Egyptians protest, defy army bid to disperse them

CAIRO: Some 2,000 Egyptians defied the soldiers tried to disperse a demonstration night in Cairo Tahrir Square and pledged Saturday to continue the demonstration until former President Hosni Mubarak has been tried and other demands met.

Some protesters, angry against the use of the army of tasers and batons to drive them from Tahrir night, threw stones at an army truck smoldering. Two other army vehicles were torched. The soldiers are not in the central square on Saturday.

After a protest by hundreds of thousands of Egyptians during the day Friday, the army surrounded the square to make it clear to the curfew 2:00 to 5:00 gunfire echoed around place overnight as the army clashed with demonstrators.

The demonstrators on the square dotted with rocks showed off envelopes ammunition they said were used. One protester said a pool of blood. In a street near the square, a Reuters witness counted about a dozen trucks carrying troops in line.

"God thank you, we resisted them (the army), and we're still here," said one demonstrator in Tahrir, which was the epicenter of events that led Mubarak on February 11, after 30 years in office . Egypt is now managed by a board member.

Some protesters barbed wire that had been vacated by the army and dragged across the roads instead. As they did during protests to overthrow Mubarak, the protesters started checking IDs of those entering Tahrir.