Fresh violence erupts in Cairo, hours after Cabinet submits resignation

Thousands protest military-led government

Author: From Ben Wedeman and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy CNN
Published On: Nov 21 2011 02:54:40 AM CST  Updated On: Nov 21 2011 05:46:05 PM CST
Egypt Protests

Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters

CAIRO (CNN) -

Fresh violence broke out in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square early Tuesday, hours after Egypt's Cabinet submitted its resignation to the nation's military-led government.

Multiple people suffered injuries in intense early morning clashes, according to CNN staff on site. Ambulances could be seen on video rushing in and out of the square, which served as the hub for the movement that led to the ouster nine months ago of long-time President Hosni Mubarak and is now a center for protests against Egypt's military rulers.

Tuesday's violence marks the fourth straight day of clashes between security forces and protesters, days ahead of a November 28 parliamentary election.

Amid the unrest, Egypt's Cabinet offered to resign Monday night. Justice Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz al-Juindy explained that this move to quit the government was driven by opposition to security forces' crackdown on demonstrators.

"I resigned because of the events in Tahrir (Square), because of the political responsibility," explained al-Juindy.

The military leadership accepted the mass resignation soon after the prime minister's office said it was offered, said Lt. Col. Amr Imam, a spokesman for the ruling Supreme Council for the Armed Forces.

But a short time later, a spokesman for Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said the resignation was not complete. Mohammed Hegazy said around 11 p.m. Monday (4 p.m. ET) that Egypt's military council "is currently in another session with the Cabinet and has not accepted" the Cabinet members' proposed mass resignation "yet."

As this potential political shuffling played out, animosity and violence continued to simmer in the streets of Cairo.

Twenty-four protesters have died in these recent clashes, Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Adil al-Dawi said shortly before midnight Monday.

Among police, 102 officers and conscripts have been injured, with wounds ranging from gunshots to burns from Molotov cocktails, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. One officer has a critical bullet wound to his head.

Roughly 1,700 citizens have been wounded, according to the same Health Ministry spokesman. That includes at least 207 on Monday.

Adel Saeed, a spokesman for Egypt's general prosecutor's office, said 127 demonstrators who had been arrested since Saturday have been released. Another five have been "detained temporarily for further investigation."

The military council has said on its Facebook page it is "extremely sorry for what the events have led to." And spokesman Maj. Mohamed Askar noted late Monday that the Supreme Council has ordered a fact-finding mission to assess what has happened.

Moreover, the Supreme Council also is calling upon "all political forces to hold dialogue as soon as possible in order to address the escalation" of unrest, Askar said.

Yet such pledges didn't appear to resonate much with those around Tahrir Square.

"People here feel that they have been cheated and that they have moved from an autocracy to a military dictatorship," protester Mosa'ab Elshamy said. "So they are back to the square -- back to square one -- to ask for their rights once again."

Another man said the Supreme Council itself must relinquish authority.

"We want the military council to hand over power to civilians," he said. "It's over! It's enough of them. ... Stop beating the people!"

With citizen activists again at odds with security forces in Tahrir Square, the scene this week in many ways resembles what happened in February.

After Mubarak was ousted, military leaders took control with the promise that eventually a civilian government would be elected and take over.

Military leaders still say they will hand over power to a new government when one is elected. Parliamentary elections are set to take place November 28. But a complex electoral process follows, and presidential elections could be a year away.

Demonstrators say they are concerned the military, which would continue to be Egypt's top authority until a president is in place, wants to keep a grip on the country. Many also have voiced anger about a proposed constitutional principle that would shield the military's budget from scrutiny by civilian powers. They say they worry the military would be shaped as a state within a state.

These sentiments are reflected in the 2011 Arab Public Opinion Poll, conducted by University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami and released Monday. Some 21% of respondents said they believe Egypt's military rulers are working to advance the gains of the revolution, while double that figure, 43%, say they are trying to slow or reverse the gains. The survey of 750 Egyptians, conducted between October 22 and 30, has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

On the streets of Cairo, some protesters have gone further, shouting that they believe Mubarak is running the military council and, in fact, the entire country from prison. He and his sons Gamal and Alaa face charges of corruption and of killing protesters.

Violence on the streets has intensified the sentiments among demonstrators.


Comments

The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. 
blog comments powered by Disqus

Advertisement

Today's Clickers

Advertisement
Advertisement

Local Business Directory