Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Egyptian officials say at least 11 people have been killed and nearly 50 wounded after a group of mostly Islamist protesters were attacked in Cairo today.
Several hundred protesters had been camped outside Egypt's Defense Ministry since the weekend demanding that Egypt's ruling generals hand over power to a civilian administration. They were set upon around dawn, but it's not clear who the attackers were.
The battles resumed again later in the morning, but riot police and army troops backed by armored vehicles moved in to separate the two sides around midday.
The military generals took over from Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak in February last year. They've promised to hand over power to a civilian administration by July 1 but that has not stopped rallies demanding the generals leave immediately.
The violence is the worst in the Egyptian capital in weeks and comes just three weeks ahead of presidential elections.
