CAIRO: Egyptian protesters opened Tahrir square to cars and people after it had been closed for 22 days in protest to the ongoing military rule of Egypt and in condemnation to the violence that sparked the sit-in and left at least 70 dead and thousands injured. On November 19, protesters started clashing with anti-riot police after a small protest had spent the night in the square was dispersed by force. The violence against protesters drove thousands more to the street in support of the revolution and the bloody clashes occurred on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, a side street leading to the square in one direction and to the ministry of interior in the opposite. Police accused protesters of attempting to break into the ministry. Protesters publicly denied the allegations, saying that they are trying to protect their fellow protesters in the main square via a stand-off with the police. During the violence, police used tear gas that was banned for military purposes and expired, they shot live ammunition at people and rubber bullets. One online video shows an Egyptian soldier throwing a Molotov cocktail at protesters from the first floor of a building on the same street. Several times the violence reached the many field hospitals that had been set up to help the injured, where tear gas landed inside the Mohamed Mahmoud clinic that treated thousands of people, forcing the volunteers to move the hospital. On Saturday, and coinciding with the opening of the square, the last victim of police violence from the recent clashes died at a local hospital after being shot. Ahmed Saleh, 21, a last year student of computer studies, died at the Qasr al-Aini hospital in downtown Cairo after he was shot in the neck and the bullet reached the spinal cord, putting him in intensive care for 21 days before he passed away on Saturday. Saleh's body is expected to undergo an autopsy to determine the type of bullet used and document the injuries that led to his death. His family was with him until his last moments and they said goodbye to their young son with tears and disbelief. His father was quoted saying that Ahmed was not “a thug” and should not have been shot. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/bKdu9 Tags: Activist, featured, Police, Tahrir Section: Egypt, Latest News
