Cairo: Hundreds of Egyptian troops and
armoured vehicles moved into the iconic Tahrir Square to
disperse scores of protesters camping there for weeks
demanding for faster pace of political reforms and justice for
those killed in the mass uprising that toppled former
President Hosni Mubarak.
Twenty six parties and political movements on Sunday
said they were suspending their three-week long sit-in during
the holy Muslim month of Ramadan which started today.
The protesters had said they believed sit-ins are a
means, and not a goal hence they decided to temporarily
suspend their sit-in during the month of Ramadan adding they
might go back once the month is over to push for their
demands.
But some demonstrators refused to leave despite the
suspension of the sit-in so the military and riot police moved
in.
The protesters responded by throwing stones and rocks
at the security forces and several protesters were injured in
the clashes, officials said. Activists said several protesters
had been arrested, al Jazeera reported.
Activists have been occupying Tahrir Square, the
epicentre of protests that toppled Mubarak, since July 8 to
denounce the military rulers` handling of the transition.
The move was welcomed by shop owners in the square who
were complaining they were about to go bankrupt because of the
protests.
Many Egyptians also welcomed the move on their comment
on social networks after traffic in Cairo had reached
unprecedented levels of crowdedness and came to a total halt
on Sunday.
It is known that traffic is worse during Ramadan in
Cairo as people want to be at home to break their fast at
sunset.
PTI
