Egypt’s army apologises for clashes with protesters

CAIRO - The Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces issued an apology Saturday after clashes erupted between protesters and the army Friday night.

On its official Facebook group, the council issued statement titled “apology, and our credit entitles us to it” saying the clashes “were due to unintended friction between the military police and sons of the revolution”.

The military, now in control of the country, will “take all precautions to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future”, read the statement.

Clashes erupted between members of the military police and around 300 demonstrators who refused to leave central Cairo’s Tahrir square after the curfew started at midnight.

Some activists have called for a demonstration Saturday “against attacks by the army on demonstrators”.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square Friday to celebrate one month since the uprising began and to call for reform.

The protesters, who successfully forced Hosni Mubarak to resign after nearly 30 years in power, also want to see his appointed prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, removed from his post.

As part of their promise to carry out reform, the armed forces appointed 10 new ministers this week, including independents and members of smaller parties.

But protesters also want to see the removal of the current prime minister, a former air force general with close ties to the ruling elite.