Dozens injured in Cairo face-off

Cairo: Egyptian security forces firing tear gas clashed with more than 5,000 rock-throwing protesters in central Cairo late on Tuesday, leaving dozens injured in the latest unrest to rattle the country, witnesses and medical officials said.

Clouds of tear gas and the wail of police sirens engulfed Tahrir Square as lines of security forces in riot gear battled to regain control of the central plaza from the demonstrators, many of them family members of the more than 850 people killed during the revolution that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak.

The families are frustrated with what they perceive as the slow prosecution of security officers believed to be responsible for the deaths during the 18-day uprising.

‘Down with junta'

Rocks and shattered glass littered the streets around Tahrir, as protesters shouted: "Down with the military junta."

Injured demonstrators lay on the ground, some bloodied and dazed, before the clashes ended after Interior Minister Mansour Al Essawy issued an order before dawn yesterday for the security services to stand down.

The confrontation began on Tuesday, when security forces cleared a sit-in outside the state TV building by the families of the slain protesters, said Nour Al Deen, an engineer who gave only his first name.

"I was in front of the state TV building this morning when the security forces attacked," he said. "Since then, things have been escalating."

The protesters regrouped on Tuesday evening outside the Interior Ministry, where rumour had it that two demonstrators wounded earlier in the day had been taken. It was not immediately clear what sparked the violence outside the ministry, but eventually protesters were hurling stones and security forces firing volleys of tear gas and blocking off streets around the building.

The clashes then shifted to nearby Tahrir Square — the epicentre of Egypt's revolution. In a sight unseen since the early days of the uprising, lines of central security troops in riot gear sealed off the main streets leading into the square, while dozens of security vehicles were parked in side streets.

Shocking response

The government response shocked many of the protesters, who compared it to the heavy-handed tactics used by the security forces before Mubarak's fall.

"The security forces' violence is the same," said Al Maataz Hassan, an engineer. "They accuse the people of being thugs, then crack down. It's the same mentality as before the revolution."