Egypt again into Clashes: Eight Killed, Hundreds Wounded

Activists said the clashes originally erupted Friday after the police beat-up a young man participating in a sit-in protest outside the cabinet building.
 

Hundreds of people then poured onto the streets in support of the protesters demanding an end to military rule.
 

They threw rocks and fire-bombs at the military police that responded by throwing rocks at protesters and used water cannon to disperse the protesters. The police force also torched protester tents overnight.
 

Egyptian protesters want the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, which took control after the February revolution, to hand over power to a civilian government.
 

They accuse the military junta of carrying on with practices of the decades-long regime of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak.

The army-appointed prime minister, Kamal al-Ganzouri, blamed the violence on protesters he accused of attacking the cabinet and parliament buildings that security forces had to defend.

"I still say we will not confront any peaceful protests with any kind of violence even by words," he said on state television in his first public comments on the disturbances.

"I confirm that the army has not used gunfire," he said reiterating a military statement on Friday.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org