Deadly clashes grip Cairo's Tahrir Square

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Deadly clashes grip Cairo's Tahrir Square

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Four people were killed as security forces tried to clear protesters from Cairo's Tahrir Square.

21 November,2011 05:14 am

At least four people were killed on Sunday as security forces tried to clear protesters from Cairos Tahrir Square, casting a dark shadow over Egypts first elections since Hosni Mubaraks downfall.Police and military forces used batons, tear gas and birdshot to clear the central square of thousands of protesters who are demanding that the ruling military cede power to a civilian authority.It was the second day of violence in the Egyptian capital, following a peaceful anti-military mass rally on Friday.Four people died on Sunday and two people on Saturday, medical sources said, kicking off a violent countdown to the countrys first elections since the end of Mubaraks 30-year-rule.A man in his twenties died after being shot in the stomach, Dr Ahmed al-Sayyed, working in a field hospital in Tahrir, told AFP.Earlier, another doctor, Abdallah Abdelrahman said that three people died of asphyxiation during the clashes.The health ministry has confirmed three deaths.Police and troops seized the square only to be beaten back by protesters who triumphantly retook it later, as also happened on Saturday.The situation remained fluid with ongoing clashes around Tahrir -- the symbolic heart of protests that toppled Mubarak in February.