Soldiers baton-charge Egyptian protesters in Tahrir Square after eight die and 300 are wounded in new clashes



Sickening image of police grabbing girl by the hair posted on Twitter



Vote-counting underway in second round of parliamentary elections

Protesters attack Cabinet building with rocks and firebombs

Soldiers baton-charged demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square today just 24 hours after street clashes killed eight people and wounded more than 300.

Protesters fled into side streets to escape the troops in riot gear, who grabbed people and battered them repeatedly even after they had been beaten to the ground.

The violence - witnessed by a Reuters journalist - marred the first free election most Egyptians can remember and highlighted the tensions in Egypt 10 months after a popular revolt toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

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Ablaze: A protester flashes a victory sign in front of a building in Cairo's Kasr al-Aini district today

Battered: With blood streaming from a head wound, a protester shows the baton-wielding brutality of the security forces

Victim: An injured demonstrator is carried away from Tahrir Square after soldiers clashed with a rock-throwing mob

Firebombed: Egyptian protesters against military rule throw petrol bombs today towards the building housing the ministry of transport and communications

Shots were fired in the air and television footage showed soldiers pulling down protester tents and setting them on fire.



The army assault followed skirmishes between protesters some of them had been throwing stones near fire brigade vehicles trying to douse a burning building.

Army-appointed prime minister, Kamal al-Ganzouri, blamed the violence on the crowds, accusing them of attacking the cabinet and parliament buildings which had to be defended by security forces.



He confirmed the death and injury toll in which one of those killed was a respected Muslim religious scholar, Emad Effat.

Ganzouri claimed 30 security guards were injured and 18 people had gunshot wounds , as soldiers tried to end the three-week sit-in outside the parliament building.

Inside officials counted votes there from the second round of the country's free parliamentary elections.

Confrontation: Protesters throw stones at soldiers at a building next to cabinet offices near Tahrir Square

Shocking: Images of soldiers grabbing a female protester by the hair spread across social network Twitter

Rescue: Activists carry an injured comrade during clashes with the army Social networks played a massive part in bringing down President Mubarak in the first revolution and a series of images were posted online by bloggers wanting to bring the world's attention to the brutality on the streets. One activist posted a photo on Twitter of a female protester beaten in the skirmishes, another on Yfrog showed a man's head totally covered in blood - while an AP photographer captured a soldier viciously beating a prostrate woman in a burka. Up to 50 protesters were believed to be injured and it's not known how many more are in police custody. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next A dispiriting end to a promising year in Egypt Egypt’s young revolutionaries betrayed by vote which... Share this article Share Friday's clashes pitted thousands of demonstrators against soldiers and plainclothes men who were seen at one point hurling rocks from the roof of a parliament building.

Leading reform figure and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei took to Twitter to condemn the violence, writing, 'If the sit-in broke the law, isn't the cruelty and brutality used to break it up a greater violation of all human rights laws? This is not how nations are managed.'



Retaliation: A protester throws a make-shift fire bomb near the Parliament building

Flying the flag: The clashes were triggered by a reported attack on a protester after weeks of demonstrations outside the government building Rocky road: Egyptian army soldiers and protesters lob anything they can find at each other Rights groups and activists claim that the military, which was given temporary power after Mubarak was ousted, is carrying on the practices of the old regime, including arresting and beating dissidents. Protesters at the Cabinet building said the clashes began last night after soldiers severely beat a young man who was taking part in the sit-in. Witnesses accused military police of snatching the man and beating him inside parliament, near Cabinet headquarters. When shocking online video and photos emerged showing people carrying the man, hundreds of people rushed to join the protest - some throwing rocks and firebombs at military police. The pictures showed his face and eyes bruised and swollen, his head wrapped in gauze, and blood dripping from his nose.

On their knees: A protester genuflects on an Egyptian flag amid the crazy scenes in Tahrir Square

United: Young and old stand against the military police during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square Activist Hussein Hammouda said the military countered by throwing rocks and pieces of glass, and aiming water cannon from inside the gates of the nearby parliament building. 'Tensions between the people and security officers is so enflamed that anything that happens just blows up. There is no trust between the two sides,' said Mr Hammouda, who resigned from the police in 2005 to protest against their practices. Egypt's state news agency said at least four wounded people were taken to a nearby hospital and that a fire had broken out in a nearby government building as a result of the clashes.

Dissatisfied with the military's handling of Egypt's transition, protesters chanted 'Down with military rule' and 'The people want the execution of the Field Marshal,' referring to Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi, head of the military council.

Defiant: A lone demonstrator flashes a victory sign in front of a line of soldiers

Counting underway: Egyptian officials tally up votes at a counting center in Giza

Democracy in action: Men wade though votes cast in the second round of the country's parliamentary election

Protester Mostafa Sheshtawy said: t's pretty ironic that the military is throwing rocks at protesters from the parliament building, where a sign is hanging that says democracy is the power of the people.'

The continued unrest since Mubarak's departure has battered Egypt's economy, and many blame the protests for the instability. Today's clashes overshadowed a nationwide campaign to urge Egyptians to buy locally-made goods.



Despite the protests, the military retains widespread support among many Egyptians who see it as the only entity able to run the country until presidential elections scheduled for next year.

