20 November 2011 Last updated at 19:25 ETEgypt protests:
Death toll up in
Cairo's Tahrir Square
The BBC's Helena Merriman says police were beating protesters - "about 20 or 30 of them I saw, covered in blood"
At the scene
The protesters are firmly back in control of Tahrir Square, and there are more here than ever before.
Clashes are continuing on the edges, and the injured are being brought through in ambulances all the time - but they're as determined as ever.
They've finally lost patience with the military rulers who say they're committed to the revolution and the transition to democracy, but the protesters don't believe it any more.
Many people here are now openly calling for the resignation of the head of the military council - Field Marshall Tantawi - and the end of the whole system of military rule.
The demands vary but I think the majority would like some kind of civilian council to take control of the transition to democracy.
People also differ on whether they want the parliamentary elections to go ahead if they can, which are due to start in eight days' time.
There's absolutely no sign of people going away. They're still arriving at the square and really digging in for a long, tough fight.
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Egypt's Revolution
Thousands of Egyptian protesters remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square after two days of clashes in which at least 13 people were killed and hundreds injured.
On Sunday, police and troops made a violent attempt to evict the demonstrators, firing tear gas and beating them with truncheons.
However, the protesters returned less than an hour later, chanting slogans against Egypt's military rulers.
The European Union said it condemned the violence "in the strongest terms".
There were also clashes in other cities including Alexandria, Suez and Aswan.
A total of 11 people were reportedly killed on Sunday and two on Saturday, according to medical sources. Health officials say as many as 900 have been injured, including at least 40 security personnel.
The demonstrators, some wearing gas masks, say they fear Egypt's interim military rulers are trying to retain their grip on power.
The violence comes a week before the country's first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in February.
Armoured vehicles
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on the Egyptian authorities to cease violence against the protesters.
"I urge calm and restraint and condemn the use of violence in the strongest terms. There is no doubt that the transitional process is a difficult and challenging one," she said.
"I reiterate that the interim authorities and all parties concerned have the crucial task of listening to the people and protecting their democratic aspirations."
A second day of violence began on Sunday when stone-throwing protesters advanced from the square - focal point of February's uprising - towards the interior ministry.
Officers fired volleys of tear gas and drove the protesters back, before blocking the street leading to the ministry.
Armoured personnel carriers brought in reinforcements as the security forces tried to gain the upper hand.
Scores of soldiers and police poured into the square, beating protesters and dismantling a protest camp there.
But within an hour, protesters swarmed back into the square, usually one of Cairo's busiest traffic thoroughfares.
The BBC's Helena Merriman at the scene says the atmosphere is tense, with moments of calm punctuated by outbreaks of panic and running.
The edges of the square are thinning out but the road to the ministry of interior is full of protesters, she says.
In recent weeks protesters - mostly Islamists and young activists - have been holding demonstrations against a draft constitution that they say would allow the military to retain too much power after a new civilian government is elected.
They have repeatedly tried to gain a foothold in Tahrir Square again, but until this weekend they had always been removed quickly by the police.
"The violence [on Saturday] showed us that Mubarak is still in power," one protester, Ahmed Hani, told the Associated Press news agency.
Protester Magdy Mohamed Ali: "If they think that the army personnel can bring us down then they are in for surprise"
He said the leader of Egypt's military government, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, should resign.
"We have a single demand: the marshal must step down and be replaced by a civilian council," he said.
The latest violence is some of the worst in months between the Egyptian authorities and demonstrators.
Parliamentary elections are due to begin on 28 November and take three months.
Earlier in November, Egypt's military rulers produced a draft document setting out principles for a new constitution.
Under those guidelines, the military would be exempted from civilian oversight, as would its budget.
This has angered protesters who fear the gains they have made during the uprising could yet slip away as the military tries to retain some grip on power.
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IMAGES FROM TAHIR
Egypt’s riot police clash with protesters in Cairo
>via: http://fyeahafrica.tumblr.com/post/13021632349/egypts-riot-police-clash-with-...
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REVOLUTION 2.0?
Ursula Lindsey November 19, 2011 at 11:51 PMAfter the police violently cleared 100 or so demonstrators (including a group of the relatives of revolutionary martyrs and injured) from Tahrir Square today, thousands more poured into the square and began clashing with the security forces, burning one police truck and trying to reach the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Interior denies using any bullets, pellets or bird shot, but witnesses have widely documented their use. Hundreds are injured, and one dead confirmed so far. Tens of thousands have streamed into Downtown Cairo and are demonstrating in Alexandria, Suez and Mansoura. The fighting goes on, and people are saying that it feels like January 28 all over again.
These clashes feel almost unavoidable, given the military council's terrible performance, the increasing vocal criticism it is facing, the rising tensions of all kinds surrounding the upcoming (poorly planned, utterly confusing) elections -- given the terribly unclear transition process that has been put in place, and the fact that none of the revolution's demands, including the reform of the security forces and real transitional justice, have been met.
Islamist leaders -- the Salafist sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail and the Islamist presidential candidate Mohammed Selim El Awwa -- have gone to Tahrir. Mohammed El Baradei is once again calling for the creation of a "national salvation" government.
This is a huge escalation, and it's not clear whether it may lead to something good (an accelerated transition to civilian government, and a better articulated plan for that transition built on a real consensus between all political forces) or to something even worse (a further army crack-down, the cancellation of elections without proposing an alternative).
On TV tonight, there was plenty of criticism for SCAF, the government and the police and of lamenting of the fact that there is no governing body with legitimacy in the country today. But of course there were also the usual conspiracy theories and condenmations of "chaos."
A chant in the square used to be "The People and the Army are One Hand." Today people chanted (with their usual wit) "The People and the People are One Hand."