Mubarak sends in paid thugs to attack protesters

Egyptian president’s regime orchestrates bloody battles in Tahrir Square against protesters seeking his removal from power.

Supporters of Hosni Mubarak moved today to brutally crush the popular uprising against him as they stormed Cairo’s Tahrir Square, for days the epicentre of the movement to remove the Egyptian president.

Using clubs, bats, knives and even homemade spears, pro-Mubarak demonstrators charged the square at just before 2pm. They had been gathering for several hours 800 metres from the square on the Nile Corniche, outside the state television station.

The violence was immediately condemned by David Cameron, who called it “deplorable”, by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon and by President Barak Obama, suggesting Mubarak’s resistance may be in danger of badly backfiring.

While many had anticipated a move to clear Tahrir Square by the security forces, the use of mob violence, orchestrated by the regime, had not been foreseen.

Pitched battles turned the area into a war zone as anti-Mubarak protesters tried desperately to hold on to the square where hundreds of thousands of opponents of the regime gathered peacefully yesterday.

Earlier today, a request by the army for those in the square to disperse was ignored.

At one stage, tanks attempted to move between the two groups but did little to stop the escalating clashes.

The pro-Mubarak protesters, numbering tens of thousands, at first said they had no intention of initiating a confrontation. Some of them admitted that they had been brought in by bus in from the countryside and some had swapped sides in recent days, saying Mubarak had given enough concessions and he should have time to usher through political change.

They came in cars and on foot from across the city, some riding camels and horses, some wielding whips.

During the first scuffles that broke out, some on the pro-Mubarak side intervened to rescue those opponents who were being beaten, but that quickly ceased.

By late afternoon, groups of men were visible on roofs in Chapillion, a few hundred metres from the square where they hurled missiles down on those beneath them. Paving stones were broken up to be uses as weapons and, soon after six o’clock, shots from automatic weapons were heard.

Among those singled out for attack were western journalists who have been blamed by the pro-Mubarak camp for encouraging the movement against him.

The Guardian witnessed dozens of people being brought in for first aid, some with horrific injuries, at a makeshift aid station set up in the open at the entrance to the square.

As sirens rang out as night fell, fleets of ambulances could be seen moving in convoy along Ramses Street in the direction of the square.

The differences between Tuesday’s demonstration against Mubarak and today’s violence were striking. Yesterday, army and activists staffed checkpoints to prevent violence; today, Egyptian soldiers made no effort to prevent confrontation.

At one stage, they moved out of the way to allow pro-Mubarak demonstrators to reach their opponents.

Among those attacking the square were groups of armed men who appeared to be plainclothes police officers. Credible reports spoke of some of those involved in the assault in Tahrir Square having been paid by the regime.

On one boulevard leading from the square, a group of men had been deployed with weapons in their hands, clearly under orders.