CAIRO - Egyptians massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday just hours after military police and soldiers had cleared the last pro-democracy activists from the area, witnesses said. The army had appeared to be in full control of the square, heart of the protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Then hundreds of police marched through, unhindered by troops, saying they wanted to show solidarity with the revolution. The police protesters and thousands of onlookers around them disrupted traffic which had begun flowing at the weekend. The police marchers joined a growing wave of protests and strikes as Egyptians used their new-found freedom to vent their anger at the country's political system. At the height of the protests more than 250,000 pro-democracy protesters had packed the square and earlier on Monday troops had forced the last dozen or so to leave. "We are with the people. We ask the people of Egypt not to ostracise us," Lieutenant Mohammed Mestekawy told Reuters, as scuffles broke out between the marchers and people angry at them for trying to "steal or co-opt the people's revolution". "I do not believe them. Where were they when my brother was killed by thugs?" cried Samah Hassan, who picked a fight with one officer as the marchers headed to the Interior Ministry. "They are free riders. They want to claim the revolution for themselves. They are agents," he shouted. Pro-democracy leaders say Egyptians will demonstrate again if their demands for radical change are not met. They plan a huge "Victory March" on Friday to celebrate the revolution, and perhaps to remind the military of the power of the street. Egypt's generals, who played an important role in the anti-Mubarak revolt by making no effort to crush it, are asserting their control following Mubarak's overthrow and trying to get life and the damaged economy back to normal. Egyptians generally respect the 470,000-strong military, which receives about $1.3 billion annually in US aid and was shielded from public criticism or scrutiny in the Mubarak era, but some in the opposition still mistrust its intentions. Disgruntled employees on Monday were demonstrating and striking in Cairo and other Egyptian cities for better deals. In a sign of nervousness, Egypt's stock exchange, closed since Jan. 27 because of the turmoil, said it would remain shut until stability returned to the economy, an official said. The interim military rulers called a bank holiday on Monday after disruption in the banking sector and there is a national holiday on Tuesday to mark the Prophet Mohamed's birthday.
