Bloggers in Cairo reported that tear gas was fired into Tahrir Square by the police Thursday night, as Egypt braced for a day of protests to mark the second anniversary of the revolution that began on Jan. 25, 2011.
In #tahrir square, nasty tear gas. Really potent.
Just came from behind CSF lines on Qasr al-Aini where the troops seemed to be thrilled the battle is on again. Teargas everywhere.. #Egypt
As the Cairee blogger who writes as The Big Pharaoh explained, officers from the Central Security Forces fired the gas at protesters after the crowd started to pull down a wall blocking an entrance to the square on Qasr al-Aini Street.
Clashes erupted after Tahrir protesters tried to remove the concrete blocks at Kasr Ainy St. Useless clashes are the last thing we need now.
The activist Sherief Gaber, who writes as @cairocitylimits, pointed to video of cheers erupting from the crowd as the wall was torn down on Thursday.
The cheer at this point in this video is heartening to anyone who has ever been enraged by a barrier wall: h! ttp://t.co/xCidhbHP
Hours after the fighting began, The Big Pharaoh called the clashes “useless,†coming on the eve of planned demonstrations in the same area to note continuing dissatisfaction with Egypt’s postrevolutionary government.
Clashes continue in Kasr Ainy st. Police firing loads of tear gas into Tahrir. Useless clashes in the wrong timing.
After the wall was estroyed, the Cairo daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that soldiers had been deployed to build a new one on the same street.
@Adamtawny they’re building another one as this goes down http://t.co/PRVB498c
