Two Killed as Clashes Erupt in Cairo’s Tahrir Square

Hundreds of protesters demanding that Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, be put on trial for alleged corruption, have retaken Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, hours after security forces attempted to disperse them, in a clash that killed at least two people, Al Jazeera reports.

By early Saturday morning, army and central security troops appeared to have withdrawn, leaving the square to protesters who set vehicles on fire and began setting up barricades made of furniture and left-behind barbed wire.

The news network went on to report that hundreds of army and security forces troops had stormed the square earlier, in an attempt to disperse the thousands of protesters. Then protesters and riot police threw rocks at each other, and security forces responded by firing tear gas, witnesses said. At least four injured protesters had to be carried away, it was reported.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least two people had been killed in those clashes, and that that number could rise. The military has denied that anyone was hurt or killed in their raid of the square.

Groups of protesters rallying around the southeast corner of the square threw bottles and possibly petrol firebombs at riot police, Michelle May, a freelance journalist, told Al Jazeera.

One of the main roads running east from Tahrir Square towards Talaat Harb Square was virtually empty, and gunfire seemed to have subsided, a witness said.

Later, in a statement released through the state MENA news agency, the military said that security forces were attempting to enforce a 2am to 5am (local time) curfew.

It added, that elements from the interior ministry along with some noble citizens confronted the riotous actions and enforced the curfew without any losses. Then went on to say: “The armed forces stress that they will not tolerate any acts of rioting or any act that harms the interest of the country and the people.”

A separate statement carried on the military’s Facebook page blamed “remnants” of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party for the clashes, and ordered the arrest of four party members it accused of “thuggery” during the sit-in.

Tens of thousands of protesters had flooded into the square on Friday in one of the largest demonstrations since Mubarak stepped down on February 11, with the protesters calling for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which nows runs the country, to honour their demands, which include prosecuting a number of former high-ranking regime officials and Mubarak himself.

The protesters had been joined by about 20 military officers, who had been under orders not to participate. Demonstrators stayed in the square past the military curfew, which runs from 2am to 5am, saying they wanted to protect the officers who joined.

When security forces stormed the square, some of the protesting army officers managed to escape, while at least seven officers were arrested, witnesses have been reported telling Al Jazeera.

On the road leading east into the central business district around Talaat Harb Square, protesters tore down the roof of a bus stop and dragged it down the road to protect themselves from gunfire and rocks, said Drew Storey, a neighbourhood resident.

In recent weeks, activists have been accusing the army of making arbitrary arrests, abusing and torturing prisoners, and subjecting detainees to rapid military justice – all complaints that had fuelled mass anger against Mubarak’s government.