CAIRO: Hundreds of protesters were still camped out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Sunday following a night of bloody clashes with rival demonstrators loyal to the ruling military council.
Groups of men armed with knives and sticks attacked thousands of protesters trying to march to the headquarters of Egypt’s military rulers, in the Abbasiyah neighborhood, setting off fierce street clashes late Saturday. Police fired tear gas and protesters were pelted with stones and rocks by rivals loyal to the army.
The Health Ministry said that 231 were injured.

Saturday’s clashes come as tensions mount between the military council that took control of the country after a popular uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak and activists who want them to move faster in bringing former regime officials to justice and setting a date for the transition to civilian rule.
After the clashes, protesters headed back to join others camped out in Tahrir Square – the epicenter of the protests that ousted Mubarak in February.

The fighting in Abbasiyah came hours after SCAF accused groups in Tahrir, including the April 6 pro-democracy movement, of sowing instability.
Looking tired and dispirited, protesters vowed nonetheless to continue pressing for change.
“We will stay in the square,” where a sit-in is into its third week, said 32-year-old Mohammad Amr, wearing an eye patch.

Amr, a tour guide from the canal city of Suez, was injured in the overnight clashes and doctors say he may have lost his sight in one eye.
Asmaa Ibrahim, 19, who was in Abbasiyah, said she was beaten during the clashes.
“They beat everyone, even the girls. We won’t stop talking,” said Asmaa, on the verge of tears, wearing the same yellow dress as the day before.
Under the blazing sun, a man played the oud. He said he was trying to “cheer people up.”

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of SCAF and Mubarak’s long-time defense minister, pledged in a television address Saturday to work for a free system through fair elections and a constitution. But the military rulers accused the April 6 movement of “driving a wedge between the people and the army.”
In a statement distributed to reporters, the youth group denied the military’s accusations.
“We used to think that the revolution changed matters for the better, but we were filled with sadness after this statement was issued,” it said.

Despite Mubarak’s spectacular downfall, demonstrators have continued to take to the streets to denounce the military council over the slow pace of reform.
Egypt’s military has also come under fire for alleged rights violations and for using Mubarak-era tactics to stifle dissent.
Since July 8, protesters have camped out in Tahrir Square, vowing to continue until their demands are met.
They are calling for the trial of former regime officials, an end to military trials of civilians, the purge of Mubarak officials from senior government posts and the redistribution of wealth.