CAIRO, July 24 (UPI) -- Egyptian officials said Sunday nearly 300 people were injured earlier when marches between pro- and anti-government demonstrators turned violent in Cairo.
The bloody conflict started Saturday as some 5,000 marchers calling for an end to military rule and the implementation of democracy advanced on Tahrir Square, the al-Masry al-Youm newspaper said. They were met by counter-demonstrators who threw Molotov cocktails, rocks and debris, the report said.
There were hundreds of soldiers around the square, but they didn't immediately intervene, Bikya Masr.com reported. As the fighting grew worse, troops began firing shots into the air and the crowd thinned and eventually dispersed.
Health ministry officials said 196 people were treated for injuries at the scene and 100 others were hospitalized, the state-run MENA news agency said.
The military has been in power since former President Hosni Mubarak resigned in February. Since then, protesters have been demanding a swift transition to an elected government.
Demonstrations have been escalating since July 8 and Saturday's largest showing had historical significance to the pro-democracy demonstrators, as July 23 is the anniversary of Egypt's independence from British rule in 1952.
