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Egyptian Antigovernment Protesters Square Off Against Mubarak Supporters

03.02.2011 15:45

By RFE/RL

Egyptian Army troops in central Cairo have been deployed between supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak who have been fighting for strategic positions along the fringes of Tahrir Square.

But they have been unable to stop rock throwing and isolated fights across central Cairo -- including a skirmish for control of a bridge at the square.

The skirmishes came as the prime minister appointed by Mubarak last week, Ahmed Shafiq, issued an unprecedented apology for the assault on February 2 by regime backers that turned Tahrir Square into a battle zone.

Egypt's Interior Ministry has denied reports that it organized and supplied plainclothes police as part of the mob that attacking antigovernment demonstrators with knives and iron bars.

Under increasing international criticism, Shafiq announced that the government was launching an investigation into the escalating violence.

"I promise and greatly stress that things like this will not be overlooked," Shafiq said. "Who are the people who entered [Tahrir Square] and who planned it? And if it was not planned, who guided them to that area?"

State Of Siege

Meanwhile, at Tahrir Square, each side struggled for strategic positions in and around the square -- creating a sense of siege.

It was a scene of recovery and defiance from antigovernment demonstrators who erected makeshift barricades at the entrances to the square and pulled up pavement stones to prepare for the possibility they could be stormed again by pro-Mubarak rioters.

Soldiers could be seen lining up to separate the two sides in the standoff after Mubarak supporters and opponents faced off in violent clashes.

Those troop deployments mark the first time the army has taken decisive action to try to halt the violence that broke out on February 2.

Egypt's Health Ministry says six people were killed and 836 injured since Mubarak's supporters tried to storm the square on February 2 to disperse the antigovernment demonstrators. Independent reports suggest the death and injury toll is likely to be higher.

Mubarak's supporters, armed with knives and sticks, may have hoped to reverse the momentum of antigovernment protests by intimidating and scaring away the demonstrators.

'Antimedia Campaign'

Also today, the U.S. State Department condemned what it described as a campaign to intimidate journalists covering the protests in Egypt.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said: "There is a concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in Cairo and interfere with their reporting. We condemn such actions."

Other foreign leaders and rights activists in France, Spain, Germany, and Italy also denounced attacks and harassment of correspondents, camera reporters, and photographers in Egypt.

The reactions came as foreign journalists were attacked by pro-government mobs on the streets Cairo today, and several were reported detained by security forces.

That reaction came as British-based mobile-phone operator Vodafone said that Egyptian authorities had forced mobile-phone operators to broadcast pro-government messages amid protests engulfing the country. Vodafone condemned the situation as "unacceptable."

Egyptian authorities previously cut mobile communications in a bid to prevent demonstrators from coordinating their protests earlier in the crisis.

But the violence appears to have strengthened the resolve of the antigovernment crowd. Thousands of people were returning to Tahrir Square today to reinforce a hard core of protesters who had hunkered down against gunfire and firebombs overnight to hold the square:

By midday today, scores of bloodied antigovernment demonstrators could be seen lying in the middle of the square while volunteer doctors tried to treat their injuries.

Meanwhile, the army positioned tanks and infantry to create an 80-meter-wide buffer zone. Thousands of antigovernment protesters were on one side of the soldiers, while hundreds of Mubarak supporters were on the other side.

The neutral zone between the two crowds was filled with rocks and bricks that the groups have been hurling at each other since the afternoon of February 2.

A high-level army delegation headed by General Hassan al-Rouwainy came out to inspect the square, the officers talking to anti-Mubarak demonstrators. They were quickly surrounded by a crowd that chanted, "The people, the army are hand in hand" and "We are not moving."

After about 15 minutes, Rouwainy and his officers returned to an army stronghold at the Egyptian Museum on the edge of the square.

Backing Mubarak

Since Mubarak made a nationally televised speech late on February 1 and promised not to run for reelection in September, some Egyptians have argued he should just be allowed to finish his current term.

Supporters of Mubarak argue he offers the only way out of the current crisis.

"Some political parties, the police and lots of people support Mubarak because he promised in his speech that he will do everything the protesters want from him," Muhammad Tareq, 27, who works in an Internet cafe and did not take part in the violence on Tahrir Square, told the Cairo correspondent of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan.

"In this case, I am with him. The best way to get out of this crisis is for people to calm down and give him time to put things in order until we begin the next period [of Egypt's history]."

But the violence that erupted on February 2 -- and allegations of direct involvement by police -- have led to increased calls for Mubarak's immediate resignation.

Egyptian reformist leader and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei has accused Egyptian police of orchestrating "thugs" and being directly involved in the pro-Mubarak group's attempts to storm the square.

Human Rights Watch has accused the Egyptian government of "criminal negligence" for failing to prevent the clashes on February 2 and overnight.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the violence since February 2 was a clear attempt to frighten off antigovernment demonstrators.

"We don't know who unleashed those thugs on the streets of Cairo. They have been identified as supporters of the government," Crowley said.

"But whoever they are, there needs to be accountability here. This was clearly an attempt to intimidate the protesters, who have been communicating to the government and insisting on change."

The size of the crowds returning to Tahrir Square today to support the antigovernment demonstration suggests the protesters will not be easily intimidated.

But with pro-Mubarak supporters reportedly stopping people from bringing water, food, and medical supplies into Tahrir Square, a siege mentally appeared to be setting in amid the standoff.

written by Ron Synovitz and Charles Recknagel; with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan and news agency material

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/egypt_protests_clashes_day_nine/2296189.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.