Egypt's military warns protesters against violence

[July 12, 2011]  CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's military rulers have sternly warned protesters against "harming public interests" as demonstrators lay siege to Cairo's largest government building and threaten to expand their sit-in to other sites in the capital.

The warning came in a statement Tuesday, ahead of a planned rally by protesters demanding a wider purge of members of Hosni Mubarak's regime and bringing to justice police officers accused of killing protesters during Egypt's uprising.

Protesters have been camping out since Friday at Cairo's Tahrir Square, epicenter of the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising. They vowed not to leave until their demands are met.

Earlier Tuesday, 30 men armed with knives and sticks stormed the protesters' tent camp at the square, wounding six.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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CAIRO (AP) -- Egyptian anti-government protesters say about 30 assailants carrying knives and sticks stormed their tent camp in Cairo's central square, injuring six people.

Tuesday's attack came before a planned mass rally later in the day in Tahrir Square. Protester Waleed Soud says the attackers also hurled rocks. He says one attacker was seized and is being questioned about who sent the group.

Soud says a female journalist is among those hurt.

Assailants frequently attacked protesters in the square during a February uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

[Associated Press]

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