CAIRO: The gun shots could be heard blocks away from where thousands of Egyptian protesters had taken positions near the headquarters of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). From a some 100 yards away, smoke was beginning to billow above the square, thousands of protesters caught in an attack by unknown assailants. The military, perched nearby, watched, doing nothing. By the time darkness overtook Cairo, even the injured were reportedly being arrested. It was chaos. Abbassiya was burning. It is unclear the extent of the injuries, but eye witnesses have said the number could be over 100. “The army refuses to secure a passage for the protesters to get out,” said Mohamed Adel, a spokesperson for the 6 of April movement, highlighting the military's inability to ensure order in what had been largely a peaceful demonstration to the SCAF headquarters to deliver a list of demands, including the end of military trials for civilians. Armed assailants were seen roaming the area near the square. One young boy, no older than 14-years-old was carrying a sword, heading in the direction of the square. Anger was high. “Go back, don't take video. No pictures,” one passerby said as Bikyamasr.com staff stood by, watching the events unfold. According to reports, protesters leaving the area were being arrested as they attempt to return to Tahrir Square. The march gained steam near Ramsis square on the street with the same name, the road that links the square to Abbassiya, with the marchers chanting anti SCAF slogans. “Down with al-Musheer [SCAF chief Hussein Tantawi]“, “To bring them justice or die like them” and “join us Egyptians” have been heard from the march. Activists are updating the march via the micro-blogging website Twitter and reportedly the numbers have reached some 3,000. The march follows many anti-protest statements by Major General Hassan al-Ruweini, Commander of the Central Military Area. Ruweini spoke multible times with different media outlets accusing the 6 of April movement of receiving funds from foregion countries and that their members were trained in Serbia to bring down the regime. He added in a phone call to al-Jazeera news channel that the Kefaya movement for change is “not an Egyptian group” but an international organization and both groups mentioned have “foregion suspicious agendas.” The ongoing street battles are part of a larger battle, pitting the protesters against some average Egyptians. The march, which originated from Cairo's central Tahrir Square was organized by protesters who have been engaged in a sit-in since July 8, demanding an end to military rule of the country. Their demands have seen a few concessions made by the interim government, including a Cabinet reshuffle this week in an attempt to appease the protesters, but they said it was too little, too late. On Friday evening, a group of approximately 1,000 protesters converged on the military's headquarters at the ministry of defense and were met by the military, who fired in the air to prevent the march from moving further toward the ministry. Then the statements from the military began, causing anger among the protesters. “The SCAF wishes to thanks the honorable Egyptian people who formed human sheilds between the protesters and the Armed Forces, which helped in putting an end to sedition and not portraying the SCAF as a force that attacks the people, which assures the genius of the Egyptian people and their patriotic sense that astonished the world with its white revolution,” the military statement began, referring to the local residents in the nearby neighborhoods who stood between the protesters and the military late on Friday. “The SCAF asks the Egyptian people with all its affiliation and parties to take the highest degrees of caution to thwart all attempts that aim to drive a wedge between the Armed Forces and the people, attempts that have been cited on many websites operated by a group of malevolent agents. The latest SCAF statement was released shortly after the 6 of April movement released a statement denying and condemning the SCAF's previous statement number 69. The SCAF received heavy criticism from activists on Twitter and Facebook and saw massive support for the pro-democracy group. Egypt's first female presidential nominee Bothaina Kamel, who announced on her Twitter account that she had joined the movement, joined the Saturday march and reportedly had a “severe cut on her hand.” Presidential and Facebook pages appeared in support of the group, including ones titled “we are all 6 of April.” The group released a statement shortly after the SCAF's, saying they have nothing to do with the march and called all that was said is “wrong.” As of 9 pm Saturday evening, the clashes appeared to have subsided, eye witnesses said. ** Manar Ammar contributed to this report. BM
