Egypt Army Fires Shots as Mubarak Protesters Clash

By Haaretz Service February 2, 2011

Thousands of supporters of Egypt’s president and anti-government demonstrators attack each other with stones, clubs; Al-Jazeera reports more than 100 hurt.

Several thousand supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, including some riding horses and camels and wielding whips, attacked anti-government protesters Wednesday as Egypt’s upheaval took a dangerous new turn. In scenes of chaos and pitched fighting, the two sides pelted each other with stones, and protesters dragged attackers off their horses.

Shots were heard fired in the air in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said. It was not immediately clear where the shots came from.

An Al-Jazeera correspondent earlier said the army had fired shots in the air, but both state television and Egypt’s army deny that any shots had been fired.

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