Protests spread in Egypt as discontent with military rule grows
Source: guardian.co.uk
Protests have brought Egypt’s administrative and commercial nerve centres to a standstill , as government attempts to stem a growing wave of opposition to military rule succeeded only in galvanising demonstrators further.
The interim prime minister, Essam Sharaf, took to the airwaves late on Saturday pledging to “meet the people’s demands”, following mass rallies across the country in which Egyptians accused the ruling council of army generals of betraying the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak this year.
In a short and strained address to the nation, Sharaf said all police officers accused of killing protesters would be stopped from working, and promised that the trials of former Mubarak ministers and other regime officials would proceed “as soon as possible”. He insisted that social and economic problems would be reviewed by the army-appointed transitional cabinet.
Rights group releases testimonies of defectors from security forces who say they took part in crackdown on protests.