The junta re-invades Tahrir

Protesters taking down a Central Security Forces vehicle in Tahrir (from @JonathanRashad)

Days before parliamentary elections, a pitched battle is going on in and around Midan Tahrir in Cairo right now, with police using tear gas and violence to drive out protesters trying to stage a sit-in against the miitary junta. From the AP report:

Earlier in the day, riot police beat protesters and dismantled a small tent city set up to commemorate revolutionary martyrs.

The clashes occurred after activists camped in the central square overnight following a massive Friday rally. The military tolerates daytime demonstrations in the central square, a symbol of the country’s Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising, but claims that long-term occupation paralyzes the city.

Friday’s rally was dominated by Islamists, but the sit-in appeared to be staged mostly by members of left- and liberal-leaning revolutionary youth groups.

The number of protesters swelled to nearly 600 people as news of the scuffles spread in the city, and thousands more riot police streamed into Tahrir Square blocking off the entrances and clashing with protesters.

Police were seen beating activists who challenged them and an Associated Press cameraman saw police arrest three people who refused to leave.

As they say in Egypt: Fuck SCAF.

Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s