Egyptians expect to ‘see a lot of bloodshed’ - USATODAY.com
Security forces fought Monday with several thousand protesters in Tahrir Square in the third straight day of violence over demands that the military set a date for turning power over to civilians.
Egypt’s army-appointed government handed in its resignation Monday in what the protesters took as a gesture toward addressing their complaints. “God is great!” they shouted upon hearing the news.
Protesters vowed to remain in the streets despite violence that has killed 24 people before parliamentary elections that will begin Nov. 28 and continue for months.
PHOTOS: Clashes in Cairo’s Tahrir Square
“My feeling is that we will see a lot of bloodshed before the military council realizes they are leading the country on the wrong track,” says Abdel Gameed El Mehelmy of the National Association for Change, a group of Egyptians from across the political spectrum.
Demonstrators demanded that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been running the country since the ouster of longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak, step aside and that a civilian body govern in its place until presidential elections - scheduled for 2013 or later.
Parliamentary elections are set to take place in three rounds, beginning next week. The Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, is likely to win the highest percentage of seats of any single party.