CAIRO: On central Cairo's Sheikh Rihan street, which runs around Tahrir Square, protesters and police – the military is now behind the police – have been in constant battle since Saturday evening. Stones are being thrown in both directions, Molotov cocktails slam to the ground near protesters and police. The street, only one removed from Mohamed Mahmoud, where scores of protesters lost their lives last month, has become the frontline in the latest battle for Egypt. Already, at least 10 people have been confirmed killed in the combined military and police attacks, which began on Friday morning down Qasr el-Aini street in front of the country's cabinet building. Hundreds more have been injured by stones, police brutality and live ammunition. In the early evening hours on Sunday, just as dark was setting in over Egypt's capital, the security forces turned off the lights on the protesters side of the street, leaving renewed fears of a police and military onslaught against the protesters. “Tonight will be bloody,” one activist wrote on Twitter. Shortly before the lights went out, Ahmad Aggour, who uses the Twitter handle @pyspherize, told Bikyamasr.com that the police “would attack and push us back, but we would return throwing rocks and force them back and push the frontline forward.” It was a cat and mouse game all day, with both sides gaining ground only to lose it as the other side pushed forward. The protesters were being injured, and killed, in each successive attack by the military and police. With night, the blood will continue to come. During the 6 days of violence last month on Mohamed Mahmoud street, during the night hours was when the vast majority of protesters were injured and killed. Field hospitals then saw scores of wounded being transported into the makeshift tents and medical facilities by the hour. Nighttime meant violence, death and injuries. Now, as the third day of clashes sees no end in sight, activists are fearful that the renewed police presence could spell greater casualties for the protesters, already worn down after three days of clashes. Making matters worse, and galvanizing the movement in the past 24 hours, is the continued sexual assaults against women by the military. The image of a woman being stripped in public has been unleashed on social networking sites and has galvanized many of the protesters to continue their battles against the military and police. The military, in a statement published on Sunday, claim they are protecting the public from the activists' “malicious plans” and have sent over 160 protesters to face charges of stone throwing, Molotov cocktails and disruption of public spaces. Activists fire back, arguing the military began the confrontation and are employing the same tactics. One online video shows uniformed military throwing rocks from the Cabinet building on Friday against protesters on the street below, but the army has denied such accusations, arguing instead that protesters have stolen uniforms and are impersonating armed forces personnel. Either way, the impasse on Sheikh Rihan street appears to continue and as Sunday night begins, fears of casualties grows with it, especially as protesters can no longer see what is coming their direction. Egypt again braces for another bloody night of street battles, but the activists say they won't back down. This is their revolution, they say, and it “can't be killed.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/9DHNC Tags: featured, Occupy Cabinet, Police, Protests, SCAF, Violence Section: Egypt, Latest News
