Black smoke billowed above Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday as Egyptian soldiers and police tried again to drive out thousands of demonstrators demanding that the military rulers quickly transfer power to a civilian government.
Officers and troops shot rubber bullets, wielded batons and fired tear gas in their bid to drive protesters out after two days of heated clashes. At least 11 protesters were killed and hundreds were injured.
Police and protesters are now battling for control of the square, which is recognized as the birthplace of the uprising that toppled leader Hosni Mubarak in February.
The latest power struggle began after a violent weekend in which at least two people protesting Egypt's military rule were killed.
Street battles continued throughout the day and into Sunday night, spreading onto side streets. The fighting sent a wave of injured protesters to makeshift clinics on the streets.
Earlier in the day, about 5,000 protesters threw rocks at the security forces, while chanting, "Freedom, freedom" as a white cloud of tear gas hung in the air.
But police and troops swept in soon after, chasing most of the protesters from the square. An Associated Press reporter on the scene described police tearing the protesters' banners and dismantling their tents.
They set at least a dozen of the tents, along with the banners and blankets, on fire after nightfall.
Despite the push, various media outlets reported that hundreds of protesters returned to the square soon after, waving Egyptian flags and chanting "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great."
CNN reporter Ben Wederman, who was in the square, told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel the protesters, in their second day of demonstrations, had been trying to get to the Ministry of the Interior, "which is the focus of everyone's anger."
With the first post-revolution elections set for Nov. 28, the protests reveal the underlying anger of a public that wants speedy reforms and an end to the power wielded by Egypt's ruling generals.
Wederman said one observer had told him that the military has no political ambitions and is simply incompetent at ruling a country of 90 million people.
"They do want to give up power," Wederman said. "But they want to retain their privileged positions in the country."
He added that the military, which controls 30 per cent of the Egyptian economy, is resisting calls for civilian oversight of its budget.
Out in the street, Ahmed Hani, a protester who was wounded by a rubber bullet, said, "The violence yesterday showed us that Mubarak is still in power."
Between Saturday and Sunday, about 1,000 protesters were wounded and two were killed, one in Cairo and the other in Alexandria.
"We have a single demand: The marshal must step down and be replaced by a civilian council," said Hani, referring to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's military ruler and Mubarak's longtime defence minister.
Yahya el-Sawi, a 21-year-old university student, said he was enraged by the sight of riot police beating up protesters already hurt in an earlier attack by the security forces. "I did not support the sit-in at the beginning, but when I saw this brutality I had to come back to be with my brothers," he said.
Doctors staffing two field hospitals in the square said they have treated around 700 protesters so far on Sunday. Alaa Mohammed, a doctor, said most of those treated suffered breathing problems or wounds caused by rubber bullets.
"The police are targeting the head, not the legs as they normally do," said Mohammed.
A medical official at Cairo's main morgue said at least 11 protesters were killed on Sunday.
The military, which took over from Mubarak, has repeatedly pledged to hand over power to an elected government but has yet to set a specific date.
According to one timetable floated by the army, the handover will happen after presidential elections are held late next year or early in 2013. The protesters say this is too late and accuse the military of dragging its feet. They want a handover to take place immediately after the end of parliamentary elections in March.
But any hopes for stability raised by the election in eight days are slim, said Wederman, because there are 40 political parties running for election.
"Things are very unstable at the moment," he said.
With files from The Associated Press
