Monday 21 November 2011

Cairo protests continue amid crackdown

Mon Nov 21, 2011 5:44PM GMT
An Egyptian protester showing rubber bullets and shells used by security forces on Sunday, November 20, 2011.
Thousands of Egyptians continue their sit-in at Cairo's iconic Liberation Square, just days ahead of a parliamentary election, Press TV reports.

As Egypt approaches its election set for November 28, protests sparked by constitutional changes giving the military junta more power, continue to spread to other cities across the country.

According to the country's Health Ministry, at least 24 protesters have been killed, while another 1,830 have been injured over the past three days. Medical sources had earlier put the death toll at 35.

After three days of violent clashes between security forces and protesters, Egyptian political groups are calling for a mass rally on Tuesday.

“The brutal riot police attacked us with tear gas and this new suffocating smoke, which has been imported from the US,” a protester told a Press TV correspondent earlier.

Egyptian protesters and popular committees are now securing entrances to the Liberation Square by using barricades.

Clashes are taking place in the Mohammed Mahmoud Street, where the Ministry of Interior is located.

The fresh clashes cast a shadow over parliamentary elections due to start next week.

The country's military council has also threatened protesters with a tougher response if they continue their demonstrations.

Activists and political groups are becoming increasingly vocal in their criticism of the failure of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to live up to its promise to hand over power to a civilian ruling structure within six months of the February revolution.

Protesters have also censured the chairman of the council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, for his reluctance to implement sweeping change and dismantle elements of the former regime.

Following the downfall of Hosni Mubarak's regime, the military council took over in Egypt. Many Egyptians believe it is trying to derail the revolution.

Demonstrators call for an end to the military council's rule and want the military to go back to their barracks and hand over power to a civilian government.

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In case you missed it: The PA, not his Eygpt's Brother's, "ought to press the new rulers of Egypt to make the Egyptian commitment to honor and uphold the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty subject to Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people."

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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