2:00 am: Another death has been reported in Alexandria.
Al-Tayyar Al-Masry Party leader Sameh al-Barqy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the victim, 26-year-old Bahaa al-Sonousy, was a member of his party. Sonousy was shot in the head during clashes between protesters and police in Alexandria, Barqy said.
The Health Ministry had earlier reported that one person was killed and 676 were injured in the Tahrir Square clashes.
1:20 am: General Mohsen al-Fangary, a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), just spoke with the privately owned Al-Hayat satellite channel.
He said the armed forces will return to the barracks before the end of 2012 if the transition continues normally.
"What is the purpose of the sit-in, of the million-man march of 18 November and of previous million-man marches? Aren't there legitimate channels through which these demands can be expressed without affecting Egypt's image?" he asked rhetorically. He said today's protesters do not belong to the Egyptian people.
Fangary said that earlier today, he met with the injured and some civil society organizations. They told him they had nothing to do with what was going on in Tahrir Square, he claimed. They made a number of demands including: trials of those responsible for their wounds and the killing the revolution's martyrs, acquisition of agricultural land, jobs, and pensions, he added.
"Those in Tahrir Square are not the revolution's injured. Would an injured person be able to throw stones and Molotov cocktails?" he asked. He further wondered: "What is the point of the sit-in in Tahrir Square?"
He said a monthly pension will be given to the injured.
"We call upon the Egyptian people to participate in the elections and choose the ones who can best represent them," he said.
He accused those who are calling for a cabinet reshuffle of seeking to "topple the state" at this critical moment as Egyptians are close to choosing their new parliament.
12:54 am: Al Jazeera Mubasher reports that a group of people have broken into the Arbaeen Neighborhood Authority building in Suez and that computers have been stolen. Protesters in Alexandria have also besieged the police authority building in the coastal city, according to the channel.
12:45 am: The cabinet released a statement describing the violent clashes downtown as "a dangerous matter that directly affects the course of the country and the revolution."
The cabinet also said it has been holding negotiations with 32 of the revolution victims' families over the past eight days in an effort to convince them to end their sit-in. These families want to be entrusted with running their own aid fund, which the government created earlier this year to compensate them for their losses. The fund is worth LE100 million, according to the government statement.
"Today's developments came as a surprise," read the statement, which added that "holding peaceful protests is a constitutional right that cannot be touched."
The incident is being investigated and the results of the investigation will be disclosed to the public within a few days, concluded the cabinet.
12:40 am: Police forces in Suez are being deployed outside the Arbaeen police station as a precaution against a potential attack from protesters.
12:20 am: Mohamed Ahmed Mahmoud, 23, is the victim reportedly killed in tonight's clashes.
Saturday
11:30 pm: Security forces are once again shooting tear gas canisters at protesters inside Tahrir Square as clashes continue on the side streets nearby. The Ministry of Health announced that one person was killed and 676 injured in today's clashes.
7:40 pm: The number of protesters inside Tahrir Square is growing as protester throw up barricades to protect themselves from another attack.
7:00 pm: Protesters have regained control of Tahrir Square, where no security forces appear to be in sight. Some skirmishes continue in the side streets. Meanwhile, approximately 60 trucks full of Central Security Forces soldiers are waiting near the Ministry of Interior.
4:57 pm: Top police official tells state TV in a phone interview that the police have exercised the utmost level of restraint with protesters.
4:54 pm: For almost an hour, live images broadcasted from state TV only focus on the armored truck on fire. The TV describes protesters as “rioters” and quotes police sources as saying that several have been arrested.
4:50 pm: Mohamed Saad al-Katatny, Secretary General of the Freedom and Justice Party, denounces the security forces’ attack against dozens of peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square and the use of excessive force to break up their sit-in.
Katatny says the incident brings to mind the police’s history oppressive practices under Mubarak’s regime.
4:50 pm: The 25 January Youth Coalition strongly condemns what it describes as a "brutal assault" against peaceful protesters in Tahrir Square. “This attack goes against all laws and is a clear violation by the military council and the Egyptian government of citizens’ rights to express their opinions,” the statement said.
The group added that martyrs’ deaths secured the revolution’s success and allowed the SCAF to be in power. The statement called for Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy to be dismissed, due to repeated attacks on protesters and rights violations.
4:45 pm: Live images broadcasted from state TV show armored truck in flames.
4:40 pm: Nine people were transferred to hospitals after being injured in clashes with the police, says the Ministry of Health. The wounded have left the hospitals after receiving medical care.
4:38 pm: Alaa Abbas, a man who was injured during the revolution, is interviewed by phone on state-controlled Nile TV. He attacks Field Marshal Tantawi, saying that Egypt’s de-facto leader is a criminal who betrayed the nation.
4:37 pm: Amina Ismail tweets that “@My fatjher jst called me he saw 25 #csf vehicle heading from el hussian to #tahrir”
4:33 pm: Protesters expel a state TV cameraman from the square, Al-Shorouk newspaper reports on its Twitter account.
4:23 pm: Protesters throw a Molotov cocktail at the police, Al-Masry Al-Youm correspondent reports.
4:17 pm: Seven security personnel are reported injured, a security official tells state-owned MENA news agency.
The Interior Ministry says in a statement that the security forces exercised the utmost self-restraint in breaking up Tahrir Square sit-in as some protesters tried to provoke security forces and threw stones, pieces of wood and empty bottles at them resulting in the injury of seven policemen.
The injured are being transferred to the hospital, says the security official, adding five "rioters" are in custody and legal measures are being taken against them.
4:09 pm: MENA news agency reports that police closed Mohamed Mahmoud Street and Qasr al-Aini Street in order to avoid any attempts to break into the Ministry of Interior.
4:00 pm: Increasing numbers of protesters flock to Tahrir to express solidarity with protesters who have staged a sit-in in the square. They chant “The people want to bring down Field Marshal (Tantawi)” in rejection of violence used in dispersing the protest.
3:55 pm: People run towards Qasr al-Aini Street throwing rocks at hundreds of Central Security Forces.
3:50 pm: Tear gas canister strikes in Tahrir close to Mugamma.
3:45 pm: Two ambulance cars come to rescue injured protesters.
3:20 pm: Some main entrances to Tahrir Square are opened to cars.
**
Earler in the day:
The Interior Ministry says in a statement that the security forces exercised the utmost self-restraint in breaking up Tahrir Square sit-in as some protesters tried to provoke security forces and threw stones, pieces of wood and empty bottles at them resulting in the injury of seven policemen.
The injured were transferred to hospital, said the security official adding five rioters were arrested and legal measures have been taken against them.
Police and protesters clashed for control of downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday, after security forces tried to stop activists from staging a long-term sit-in in the symbolic site.
Protesters attacked a police armored truck, shaking it and pummeling it with rocks. Earlier in the day, riot police beat protesters and dismantled a small tent city.
The clashes occurred after less than 500 protesters camped in the central square overnight following a massive Friday rally.
Hundreds of riot police streamed into Tahrir Square, blocking off the entrances and clashing with protesters, trying to break up the sit-in, which also included relatives of victims killed during the revolt that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in February.
Police were seen beating activists who challenged them and an Associated Press cameraman saw police arrest three people who refused to leave.
Stubborn protesters played cat-and-mouse with riot police as they were chased out of the square and into side streets.
Protesters chanted anti-security slogans including "Riot Police are Thugs and Thieves" and "Down with the Marshal," in reference to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's military ruler.
According to eyewitnesses, scores of protesters then poured into Tahrir Square once more to support those who were beaten by the police in Saturday’s morning.
Later, protesters managed to take control of the square, forcing all the security forces to withdrew to Mohamed Mahmoud Street, which leads to the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior.
Police used tear gas and fired bullets in the air in a move to disperse about 3000 protesters who managed retake the square and block traffic.
Shimaa al-Elimay, an eyewitness who was present when protesters captured an armored truck, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that some protesters tried to save the truck and asks others not to set it on fire.
