Egypt: Battle for Tahrir Continues for Third Day  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.
The battle for Tahrir continues to rage for the third day today. Protesters who camped at Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the Egyptian revolution in downtown Cairo, have been clashing with police in a bid to reclaim the square, and continue demonstrating to press for achieving the demands of the revolution.
Among the chief demands is calling for a civil government, to take the place of the Supreme Council for Armed Forces, the military establishment which has installed itself as the defacto ruler of Egypt after former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.
Reports say that up to 20 people have been killed over the past three days. The unrest and clashes with police have also moved outside Cairo to the different provinces, where the people are raising demands, which echo those being made in Tahrir. Hundreds of people have also been injured, and activists in particular, are said to be targeted, amidst fears that the legislative elections which begin on November 28, could be disrupted if the clashes continue.
The mood amongst supporters of the revolution is tense. Journalist and activist Nora Younis just tweeted:
@NoraYounis: Dropped my son at nursery. Heading to #tahrir . Will not stand injustice anymore. Death has never been that close to me
And minutes later she tweets:
@NoraYounis: 2 standing in frontline Mohamed Mahmoud St fell with birdshots and taken to field hospital #tahrir #martyrstreet http://pic.twitter.com/GhL6KkWK
Nora Younis posts this picture of protesters being carried to the clinic after being hit with birdshot
Field hospitals at the square are packed, with continuous calls on social networks for drugs and volunteers to provide emergency care for those injured in the clashes.
Mohamed Abdelfattah, on Twitter, was at one of the field hospital at Tahrir minutes ago and shares these observations.
@mfatta7: Tahrir field clinic now
http://twitpic.com/7hai0r
A scene from one of the field hospitals at Tahrir Square. Photograph by Mohamed Abdelfattah uploaded on Twitter minutes ago
@mfatta7: The injured keep arrived at tahrir field hospital after we heard barrage of tear gas http://twitpic.com/7hajec
More victims brought to the field hospital. Picture by Mohamed Abdelfattah
@mfatta7: Clouds of tear gas http://t.co/kULwr9A1
Clouds of tear gas rise at Tahrir as police contonue their assault. Photograph by Mohamed Abdelfattah
And he adds:
@mfatta7: Casualties keep coming. Reports of live ammo
Also on Twitter, Occupy Tahrir posts a photograph of a doctor weeping. He writes:
@Occupy_Tahrir: This picture is taken of a doctor at #TahrirHospital as he weeps for life he couldn't save. #Tahrir #NoSCAF #Occupy http://t.co/JFbjkQyt
Occpy Tahrir shares this photograph of a weeping doctor at one of the field hospitals set up to treat the injured
This video, uploaded on YouTube, by Egyptian daily Al Masry Al Youm, shows the security forces and army at work – beating up protesters with no mercy:
And activist Ramy Raoof also shares a video from live streaming service Bambuser showing police targeting demonstrators, in their upper bodies, not not their feet or the ground, to disperse them. He tweets:
@RamyRaoof: in this video from 0:38 – 0:47 you will see police officers targeting demonstrators in their upper body http://bambuser.com/v/2140945 #Egypt #Tahrir
The events at Tahrir are fast-paced and netizens on the scene are active keeping people around the world updated with developments as they happen.
Stay tuned for more reports from Egypt as the developments continue.
This post is part of our special coverage Egypt Revolution 2011.