Street battles continue in Cairo

Police have clashed again with thousands of protesters in Cairo on the third straight day of violence that has left more than 20 people dead.

The most sustained challenge yet to the rule of Egypt’s military saw young activists demanding power be given to a civilian government.

They threw stones and firebombs and the tear gas canisters being fired by police into the Tahrir Square, which was the epicentre of the protest movement that removed president Hosni Mubarak in February.

The night before saw an escalation of the fighting as police launched a heavy assault that tried and failed to clear protesters from the square.

A constant stream of injured protesters – bloodied from rubber bullets or overcome by gas – were brought into makeshift clinics set out on pavements around the square.

The eruption of violence, which began Saturday, reflects the frustration and confusion that has mired Egypt’s revolution since Mubarak fell and the military stepped in to take power.

It comes only a week before Egypt is to begin the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections, which many have hoped would be a significant landmark in a transition to democracy.

Instead, the vote has been overshadowed by mounting anger at the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which will continue to hold power even after the vote.

Activists accuse the generals of acting increasingly in the same autocratic way as Mubarak’s regime and fear that they will dominate the coming government, just as they have the current interim one they appointed months ago.

The military says it will hand over power only after presidential elections, which it has vaguely said will be held in late 2012 or early 2013. The protesters are demanding an immediate move to civilian rule.

An Egyptian morgue official said the toll had climbed to 24 dead since the violence began on Saturday.

During the overnight assault, police hit one of the field clinics with heavy barrages of tear gas, forcing the staff to flee, struggling to carry out the wounded.

Protesters also marched other cities, including thousands of students in the coastal city of Alexandria. calling for those responsible for the violence in Cairo to be punished.

The protesters’ suspicions about the military were fed by a proposal issued by the military-appointed cabinet last week that would shield the armed forces from any civilian oversight and give the generals veto power over legislation dealing with military affairs. It would also give them considerable power over the body that is to be created after the election to draft a new constitution.

At the same time, there are deep concerns the election will bring little democratic change. Many worry that stalwarts of Mubarak’s ruling party could win a significant number of seats in the next parliament because the military did not ban them from running for public office as requested by activists.

Over recent months, security around the country has fallen apart, with increased crime, sectarian violence and tribal disputes. The economy has badly deteriorated. Because of the weekend violence, Egypt’s main stock index fell for a second straight day.

One of the most prominent democracy proponents in the country, Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, called on the civilian government to resign and for a national unity government to be formed “grouping all the factions so it can begin to solve the problems of Egyptians.”

Activists have been holding occasional protests against the military in Tahrir for months, and some have triggered crackdowns by the military or police.

This weekend’s violence was the most sustained fighting between the two sides. It began when security forces stormed a sit-in at Tahrir staged by several hundred protesters wounded in clashes during the 18-day uprising in January and February and frustrated by the slow pace of bringing those responsible to justice.