The Scene At The Square

by Patrick Appel

Heba Morayef of HRW updates:

Thousands are still gathered in TSq, reiterating their demands for the departure of Mubarak. There's widespread dissatisfaction with the annucment of the cabinet and the proposed interior minister. Army is controlling the square and checking people's IDs at all entry points. When I asked why a soldier replied: "it's to keep the police out and make sure none of the escaped criminals get in." There are some police elsewhere jn Cairo, some traffic cops, but no state security police anywhere downtown that I can see. 

(Photo:  Protestors defy the curfew in Tahrir Square on January 31, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. By Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.)