Uneasy calm descends on Tahrir Square

Ahram Online, Tuesday 29 Jan 2013

State of calm prevails in Cairo's Tahrir Square and surrounding areas on Tuesday morning following days of deadly clashes between police and anti-Morsi protesters

Tahrir Square
Children sleep at the entrance of a Hardee's fast food outlet in Tahrir Square in Cairo January 29, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)

An uneasy calm settled upon Tahrir Square on Tuesday morning following a night of deadly clashes between security forces and anti-Morsi protesters.

The square is now partially open to traffic for the first time in days, the state-run news agency MENA reported.

The Qasr El-Nil entrance to Tahrir Square, in the direction of Falaky and Qasr El-Nil streets, has been opened.

Entrances from Qasr El-Aini, Omar Makram and the Egyptian Museum remain closed.

The area around the presidential palace in Heliopolis is calm with few protestors and a relatively light security presence.

Clashes continued on Monday for a fourth day in downtown Cairo between protesters and security forces, leaving dozens injured from both sides. Protestors hurled stones and Molotov cocktails. Security forces responded with tear gas, pushing the battle back and forth between Qasr El-Nil Bridge and the Nile corniche.

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil inspected the Nile corniche area near Tahrir Square on Tuesday morning, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

During the clashes, a group of looters stormed the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel on the Nile corniche causing severe damage.

Security forces have expanded fortifications around the Cairo governorate building in downtown's Abdeen district after unsuccessful attempts to storm it by protesters.

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