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Egyptian protester killed in clashes
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The Associated Press
An Egyptian demonstrator was killed early Saturday outside the country's cabinet building, where protesters have camped overnight to prevent the entrance of the country's newly-appointed prime minister, witnesses and a medical official said.
The death came as a wave of protests against military rule was given extra impetus by the Egyptian military's decision on Friday to appoint a prime minister who served under deposed President Hosni Mubarak.
Hundreds gathered outside the cabinet building to prevent Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri from entering to take up his new post, and clashed with security forces who tried to disperse them.
An Associated Press cameraman saw three police troop carriers and an armoured vehicle being chased off by rock-throwing protesters. The security forces fired tear gas in return before leaving the site.
The medical official confirmed that one protester was killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The man who was killed was run over by one of the vehicles, but there were conflicting accounts about the circumstances surrounding the death.
The Interior Ministry expressed regret for the death of the protester, identified as Ahmed Serour, and said it was an accident.
Police didn't intend to storm the sit-in but were merely heading to the Interior Ministry headquarters, located behind the cabinet building, when they came under attack by angry protesters throwing firebombs, it said in a statement.
The ministry claimed security forces were injured and the driver of one of the vehicles panicked and ran over the protester.
'It became very intense'
One of the protesters, Mohammed Zaghloul, 21, said he saw six security vehicles heading to their site.
"It became very tense, rock throwing started and the police cars were driving like crazy," he said. "Police threw one tear gas canister and all of a sudden we saw our people carrying the body of a man who was bleeding really badly."
Video clips posted on social networking sites showed protesters rushing to rescue a heavily bleeding man.
Officials say more than 40 people have been killed across the country since Nov. 19, when the unrest began after a small sit-in by protesters injured during the 18-day uprising that ousted Mubarak was violently broken up by security forces.
That led to days of clashes, which ended with a truce on Thursday. It wasn't clear if the melee on Saturday was an isolated incident or part of new violence by security forces trying to clear the way for the new prime minister, and protesters frustrated by what they believe are the military's efforts to perpetuate the old regime.
The military's appointment of el-Ganzouri, its apology for the death of protesters and a series of partial concessions in the past two days suggest that the generals are struggling to overcome the most serious challenge to their nine-month rule, with fewer options now available to them.
The latest crisis has overshadowed Monday's start of Egypt's first parliamentary elections since Mubarak was replaced by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. The vote, which the generals say will be held on schedule despite the unrest, is now seen by many activists and protesters to be serving the military's efforts to project an image of itself as the nation's saviours and true democrats.
The next parliament is expected to be dominated by the country's most organized Muslim Brotherhood group, who decided to boycott the ongoing protests to keep from doing anything that could derail the election. However, the outcome of the vote is likely to be seen as flawed given the growing unrest and the suspension by many candidates of their campaigns in solidarity with the protesters.
3 U.S. students released
Three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo caught flights out of Egypt early Saturday, according to an airport official and an attorney for one of the trio.
The three Americans were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's Tahrir Square last Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.
Luke Gates, 21, and Derrik Sweeney, 19, left the Egyptian capital Saturday on separate flights to Frankfurt, Germany, an airport official in Cairo said. Gregory Porter, 19, also left the country, his attorney said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.
An Egyptian court ordered the release of Gates, Porter and Sweeney on Thursday. All were studying at the American University in Cairo.
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