Clashes at Cairo's Tahrir Square

Clashes at Cairo's Tahrir Square

At least 11 people were killed as security forces tried to clear protesters from Cairo's Tahrir Square, casting a dark shadow over Egypt's first elections since Hosni Mubarak's downfall.
Police and military forces used batons, tear gas and birdshot to clear the central square of thousands of protesters demanding that the ruling military cede power to a civilian authority.

It was the second day of violence in the Egyptian capital, following a peaceful anti-military mass rally on Friday.

A news reporter said 11 people died on Sunday and two people on Saturday, kicking off a violent countdown to the country's first elections since the end of Mubarak's 30-year-rule.

At least four had been shot dead on Sunday, he said.

Earlier Dr Mohammed Fatuh, who heads a field hospital in the square, confirmed that three more bodies had been brought in bearing bullet wounds. Medics earlier reported four deaths, one from live fire and three from asphyxiation after tear gas was fired.

Police and troops seized the square only to be beaten back by protesters who retook it later, as had also happened on Saturday.

The situation remained fluid with ongoing clashes around Tahrir -- the symbolic heart of protests that toppled Mubarak in February.