Politirant Political Forum

CAIRO — Egypt’s military rulers on Monday faced the most sustained and bloodiest challenge to their hold on power since the fall of Hosni Mubarak as demonstrators clashed for a third successive day with security forces around Tahrir Square after new clashes broke out across the country.

Egyptian troops had been heralded as saviors when their generals ushered out President Mubarak on Feb. 11, but on Sunday they led a new push to clear the square and the Health Ministry said Monday that at least 23 people were killed. Since Saturday, more than 1,500 people had been wounded, the ministry said.

Battles raged throughout the night, with gunfire echoing through streets choked with tear gas and illuminated by scattered fires. Three bodies wrapped in blankets were seen being carried away and witnesses said the bodies were those of protesters hit by live ammunition.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/middleeast/facing-calls-to-give-up-power-egypts-military-battles-crowds.html

How long until the Arab League tries to get into this as they have the Syrian conflict? What a mess this is becoming, even more than it already was.

http://news.yahoo.com/clashes-break-5th-day-egypt-121551124.html
AP – 59 mins ago.....

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian police clashed with anti-government protesters for a fifth day in central Cairo Wednesday as a rights group raised the overall death toll from the ongoing unrest to at least 38. The United Nations strongly condemned what it called the use of excessive force by security forces.

Street battles have centered around the heavily fortified Interior Ministry, near the iconic square, with police and army troops using tear gas and rubber bullets to keep the protesters from storming the ministry, a sprawling complex that has for long been associated with the hated police and Mubarak's former regime.

In his address, Tantawi rejected all criticism of the military's handling of the transitional period and sought to cast himself and the generals on the military council he heads as the nation's foremost patriots. Significantly, he did not mention the protesters gathered in Tahrir Square or elsewhere in the country.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest and best organized group, is not taking part in the ongoing protests in a move that is widely interpreted to be a reflection of its desire not to do anything that could derail a parliamentary election it is sure to dominate.

Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters, however, have defied the leadership and joined the crowds on the square.....snip~

It continues to get worse.....The Egyptian Field Marshall          has spoken. Wonder if those Bush tax cuts will affect half the money we were offering to give the Egyptians with Kerry and the Dems Nation Building Plan?