CAIRO: Yesterday Egypt celebrated the anniversary of the 1952 Revolution. This day, however, also witnessed the outbreak of violence after thousands of peaceful demonstrators in Tahrir Square marched to the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, demanding an end of using military courts to trial civilians. Demonstrators also called for speeding up trials of the figures of the former regime and achieving justice for the families of the martyrs of the January 25 Revolution. Entering the Abbasia district the demonstrators were taken by surprise by a number of thugs with knives and other forms of weapons. After clashing with the thugs, the demonstrators decided to retreat back to the square. According to the Ministry of Health, 231 people were injured in the clashes. In response to the violence, the military police closed off the entrance to Abbasia with 7 armored vehicles and a vehicle equipped with water hoses. Despite this, however, the demonstrators were surprised by unknown identities throwing stones and molotov cocktails at them and at further attacks by groups of armed thugs. Demonstrators tried to calm the situation by chanting 'This is a peaceful demonstration.' This, however, had no affect on the attackers who continued throwing molotov cocktails. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health created a field hospital nearby and sent a number of ambulances to give first aid to those who got injured. The military police tried to break up the clashes by firing a couple of gunshots in the air, but the violence only increased. The central security forces also intervened by using tear gas on the demonstrators just as they had back to Tahrir Square. According to a military source reporting to the Middle East News Agency, the armed forces and military police handled the demonstrators very harshly.
