Second Day of Violence in Egypt's Tahrir Square Leaves 11 Dead Ahead of Elections
Egypt’s Tahrir Square in Cairo has been re-occupied by up to 50,000 protesters. The city enters the second day of violence as protesters throw rocks while police and troops try to hold them back.
Demonstrators rallied since Saturday, resulting in deaths of at least 11 people. Police used tear gas and truncheons to beat the protesters, with another protester losing his eye to a rubber bullet.
The city of Alexandria, Suez and Aswan also faced clashes. The protests come a week before Egypt’s first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted earlier this year. Over 900 people have been injured in the conflict.
On the second day of demonstrations, protestors throwing stones moved from Tahrir Square to the interior ministry. They were forced back with tear gas as police took over the square. Protest camps were also dismantled by police, but protesters returned within an hour.
"The violence [on Saturday] showed us that Mubarak is still in power," one protester, Ahmed Hani, according to AP. "We have a single demand: The marshal must step down and be replaced by a civilian council.”
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to begin on Nov. 28 and end in three months time.
Activists are calling on ruling generals to hand over their power to the civilian government.
