Hundreds hurt after protesters ambushed in Cairo

SOME 300 people were hurt and an unknown number are missing after armed men attacked a march by some 10,000 democracy activists on Saturday from Cairo’s Tahrir Square to army headquarters.

The incident, the first serious clash between pro-democracy activists and groups loyal to the ruling military council since the 18-day uprising, mirrored vicious assaults carried out by regime loyalists that killed 846 before the fall of president Hosni Mubarak.

On this occasion, activists said their attackers were linked to the supreme council of the armed forces, which exercises executive powers.

The activists set out with the aim of expressing frustration over the slow pace of change, blamed by many on the military council, a body appointed by Mr Mubarak and considered still loyal to him.

As the activists approached their destination, they found the road blocked by barbed wire and tanks. Hundreds of armed men with machetes, staves, rocks and Molotov cocktails mounted a well-prepared ambush. After two hours of fighting, police drenched the area with tear gas and troops fired in the air to halt the melee.

The clash erupted shortly after the military council head, field marshal Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, delivered an address commemorating the anniversary of the 1952 coup that toppled the country’s last monarch. He praised the youth who led the uprising and pledged to “pave the way for the pillars of a democratic state, which promotes freedom, the rights of citizens through free and fair parliamentary elections, a new constitution and the election of a president chosen by the people”.

However, on its Facebook page the council also accused activists of trying to drive a wedge between the army and the people.

Last Thursday, 14 ministers were sworn in by the military council in a bid to meet some of the demands of the revolutionaries camped in Tahrir Square since July 8th. But the reshuffle did not satisfy the protesters who want the early prosecution of Mr Mubarak for corruption and abuse of power. They announced their intention of remaining in the square until their demands were delivered.

In Syria, anti-regime elements set off two large explosions at the military academy in Homs, the country’s third city.

The strike on the college coincided with the derailing of a train carrying 480 passengers from Aleppo to Damascus. The driver was killed and several people were injured when carriages left the tracks and rolled over. The authorities conveyed local journalists to the site where they were shown sections of track that had been removed.

Since these were the first such attacks on key state facilities since unrest began in mid-March, the operation is seen as a major escalation of the campaign to oust President Bashar al-Assad. The government says that armed elements and “saboteurs” are operating under the cover of “legitimate” popular demonstrations calling for reform. The opposition denies such accusations.

In Homs, thousands of people took to the streets to mourn three of 11 protesters killed last Friday.