The relatively peaceful rally in downtown Tahrir Square, which has been growing since morning, turned bloody Saturday afternoon when about ten people were shot in front of the nearby Interior Ministry.
Others estimated many more than ten had been shot and at least six killed by snipers firing live ammunition, according to unconfirmed reports.
Crowds parted for a motorcycle carrying the body of a man shot in the head through the square, and another also shot in the head was carried away on a tarp.
According to witnesses, several of those wounded are receiving treatment at a mosque off Tahrir Street.
Witnesses first encouraged reporters from Al-Masry Al-Youm to photograph the injured, but others blocked the way toward the mosque.
Protesters formed a human cordon, preventing their compatriots from heading toward the Interior Ministry, where they alleged that snipers were waiting.
The shootings did not seem to create tension between the people and the military, as demonstrators continued to ride on top of tanks and pose for photos with soldiers.
While some claimed that the military were responsible for the shootings, protesters around the square—about 500 meters from the ministry—chanted, “The army and the people are one hand—the people and the army want to take down the government.”
During the fifth consecutive day of mass unrest Saturday, first-time protesters were still joining the crowd, many with small children in tow.
“I just wanted to see what’s happening,” said Selma Khaled, a university student who participated with her father, 13-year-old brother and 10-year-old sister, for the first time.
“This is a meaningless gesture, he just doesn’t want to leave,” she said of President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to fire his cabinet. “I listened to what he said yesterday and he said nothing.”
Early in the evening, protesters had yet to respond en-masse to the appointment of key military figures Intelligence Chief Omar Soliman and Ahmed Shafeeq as vice president and prime minister, respectively.
Some who had heard the news expressed dismay. One man said, “this is not changing the regime or the system, that is why we came out. [Mubarak] just wants to use the military to reinforce his oppressive control of the country.”
As evening fell and chaos continued around many of the capital’s neighborhoods, Shadi Nour, the son of prominent opposition figure Ayman Nour, blamed the absent police force for not protecting people.
“The fact that the police have let it come to this where they have to wipe their hands clean of everything and leave all private property for looting this is definitely their fault,” he said as he joined protesters in Tahrir Square. “They are to be blamed for everything.”
