Revolution in Egypt

Demonstrators set fire to a military bus and a civilian truck on Tahrir Square in Cairo, where some 200 people were still gathered Saturday morning to demand the departure of army chief, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, according to a journalist the AFP. According to medical sources, two people were killed and at least 18 injured in Friday night to Saturday. These sources could not clarify whether the injuries were caused by bullets and death have yet to be confirmed from official sources. If they were, they would be the first since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak on February 11.

The military police deployed barbed wire around the rally, while the ground was covered with stones. Some protesters were armed with clubs, and traces of blood were visible in places. An army truck was burned half also near the square.

These confrontations reflect a recent increase in tensions and controversies surrounding the role of the army, in charge of the country since the departure of Mr. Mubarak two months ago, after a period of broad consensus. Protesters said they wanted to stay until the departure of Tahrir Square Marshal Tantawi, who heads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (AFSC), the depository of power since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak on February 11.

"The other face of the military"
Marshal Tantawi, 75, was for twenty years minister of defense of the deposed president. "I came Tahrir Square because we are witnessing a revolution-cons," said a student came here to protest, Malik Asam. "I was waiting to see the other face of the army. If it continues like this, it will show the other face of the people, "said another student, Muhammad Anas.

Witnesses said the Egyptian military police fired into the air with automatic weapons at dawn Saturday to disperse protesters who were still Tahrir Square, a day after a rally of tens of thousands of people demanding the trial Mubarak and other former officials.

Friday, defying instructions from their superiors not to appear in uniform, seven lieutenants had also spoken on a platform calling for "the trial of corrupt" and a purge of the army. Previous days, several videos were appeared on the website YouTube, in which people posing as former officers accused of betraying the AFSC the ideals of popular revolt.

The army is very popular in Egypt, particularly because of the restraint it demonstrated in front of the crowd during the revolt that caused the downfall of Mr. Mubarak. But his image has been tarnished in recent weeks by accusations of violence and torture, and the uncertainties and disagreements persist on the modalities of the return to civilian rule. The army has promised to return power to civilians by the end of the year, after parliamentary and presidential elections.

(Source AFP)