Egyptian Protest Situation Turns to Mayhem
The revolutionary protests in Egypt have become increasingly more violent after President Mubarak’s declaration that he will not seek re-election but will remain in power for the remainder of his term. Protesters have asserted that this concession is not enough and have continued to press for Mubarak’s immediate resignation.
CAIRO – Thousands of supporters and opponents of President Hosni Mubarak battled in Cairo’s main square Wednesday, raining stones, bottles and firebombs on each other in scenes of uncontrolled violence as soldiers stood by without intervening. Government backers galloped in on horses and camels, only to be dragged to the ground and beaten bloody.
At one of the fighting’s front lines, next to the famed Egyptian Museum at the edge of Tahrir Square, pro-government rioters blanketed the rooftops of nearby buildings and dumped bricks and firebombs onto the crowd below — in the process setting a tree ablaze inside the museum grounds. Plainclothes police at the building entrances prevented anti-Mubarak protesters from storming up to stop them.
Even CNN’s Anderson Cooper and his crew were caught in the violence and attacked in Cairo’s famous Tahrir Square.
Clashes between pro-Mubarak supporters and those calling for his resignation have quickly escalated into bloody street battles:
The sound of gunfire reverberated in Tahrir Square, which means “liberation” in Arabic. People hurled verbal insults, Molotov cocktails, rocks and anything else they could find — shards of metal, sticks, shoes — at one another. Desperate for more ammunition, they dismantled sidewalks and picked up chunks of cement to throw. They beat each other in what rapidly spiraled into utter mayhem.
