- CAIRO: Egyptian anti-government protesters clashed with pro-Mubarak demonstrators and called on the army surrounding the Cairo’s Tahrir square to intervene, Reuters witnesses said.
A Reuters witness said those involved in the clashes were using stones and sticks, but not weapons. The witness said about 10 people at the scene were wounded, some with bloodied heads.
“These are the thugs of the (ruling) National Democratic Party. I was at the entrance of Tahrir making a human wall and a and then a group ... scuffled with us and then a rock hit me,” said Waleed who was bleeding from his head. “I want Mubarak out.”
Journalists covering protests in Cairo were not spared.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper and two Associated Press correspondents have been roughed up in the crowd.
Cooper says he and his crew were attacked by supporters of Mubarak on Wednesday. CNN later said no one was seriously hurt.
Two Associated Press correspondents and several other journalists were roughed up during gatherings of Mubarak supporters. European papers reported that a Belgian journalist was also beaten, detained and accused of spying by unidentified people in civilian clothes.
State TV reported Tuesday night that foreigners were caught distributing anti-Mubarak leaflets, apparently trying to depict the movement as foreign-fueled.
