22 killed, 1,830 injured in Egyptian clashes: health ministry

22 killed, 1,830 injured in Egyptian clashes: health ministry
A total of 22 people have been killed and 1,830 injured in the three days of clashes between protestors and police in Egypt's capital Cairo and other cities, health ministry officials said Monday.

A morgue official in Cairo reportedly said earlier Monday that 33 dead bodies were brought to the morgue from central Cairo's Tahrir Square, where the clashes have been going on since Saturday, but he later revised the number, saying that the counting was wrong as it included some deaths with no relation to the clashes.

Clashes continued on Monday in Cairo as thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square and a nearby street leading to the premises of the Interior Ministry building while the security forces fired tear gas into the crowds in the street.

The protests were sparked by a controversy over the constitutional principles, as the opposition parties did not agree with the interim government to grant more power to the military.

"We just seek freedom and democracy and a civilian government," a protestor, Mohmed Mahmoud, told Xinhua.

The 26-year-old man said the security forces used violence against protestors and some members of the disbanded National Democratic Party might have hired thugs to stir the violence.

Walid Mohamed, a 25-year-old farmer from the southern province of Minya, said two of his friends died Sunday in the clashes in Tahrir Square.

The barefooted man, whose head was taped with gauze due to rubber bullet wounds, said he lost his shoes when he was injured Sunday and sent to a hospital for treatment.

"We want Tantawi to leave and hand over power as soon as possible," he said, referring to the chief of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Mohamed said the protestors were giving the military rulers the last warning and more protests would come if their demands were not met.

The ruling military council expressed regret for the clashes and assigned the government to take measures to avoid similar incidents.

The military also said it would stick to the power transfer schedule and had no intention to delay it.

Any move to disrupt the democratic transition process would not be allowed, it stressed Sunday.

"The military forces were not in Tahrir Square but were assigned to secure the headquarters of the interior ministry," said assistant chief of the Central Military Region, Saeed Abbas, at a press conference in front of the interior ministry building near the square on Monday.

"The military council did not come to the square on Sunday to disperse protestors, but it came at a request of the Interior Minister Mansour el-Essawy," he added.

Abbas affirmed that if the protestors wanted any forces to protect them from bullying, the forces will be ready to protect them.

Meanwhile, Abbas asserted the military council's commitment to Egypt's road map according to which parliamentary elections will be held, a founding committee will be formed to draw a new constitution and the power will eventually handed over to a civilian authority.

On Monday, the military council issued a decree to ban all those who corrupted political life in Egypt, state TV said.

The ban was also a demand by many political forces in order to prevent the former regime remnants to regain power.

The current clashes, one of the worst clashes since the fall of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February, have raised concerns about the country's parliamentary elections to be held on Nov. 28 as there has not yet been any sign of an end to the protests.

English.news.cn   2011-11-21 20:56:24