Saturday, February 4, 2012

"Soccer" Uprising : Egyptian's Battle Police Forces in Second Day of Protest

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For the second day in a row, Egyptians battled police forces in cities around the country. In Cairo, thousands of protesters took on the police in front of the hated Interior Ministry, blamed for being responsible for the deaths of 74 people killed when a major soccer match erupted in violence on Wednesday. 


Protesters threw rocks at police, who fired back with tear gas, buckshot and rubber bullets. More than two thousand have been injured and nine killed in two days of fighting, according to the Health Ministry.


The violence took place one block from the now infamous Mohamed Mahmoud Street, where similar street battles took place less than three months ago. Then, thousands were injured and 40 people were killed by security forces, many by asphyxiation from tear gas. 


The Military Council installed a new cabinet, and the new Interior Minister vowed not to use tear gas on protesters again. That promise was not kept. But protesters have proven more resilient than ever, tearing down an enormous concrete block wall erected by the military after the Mohamed Mahmoud battle, and occupying a government tax building. 


Withstanding a steady barrage of tear gas and buckshot, the protesters continued fighting throughout the day. 


These images of the front line at the northwest corner of the Interior Ministry were filmed on Friday afternoon, February 3, by TRNN videographer Roddy Hafiz

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