CAIRO - Scores of Egyptian youth protesters marking the one-year anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak bedded down in Tahrir Square and pledged to stay put until the ruling military council hands power to civilians.
United last year by anger at Mubarak and his 30-year rule, Egyptians were in high spirits on the Jan. 25 anniversary but divided between activists demanding a swift end to army rule and those celebrating the strides their country has taken with its first free elections in 60 years.The attempt to extend the protest, which the military had hoped to limit to a daytime celebration, raises the prospect of violence. A series of sit-ins in recent months have ended in clashes with security forces and left dozens dead.
"There will be a sit-in until they leave, by any means but they should leave," said Alaa Abdel Fattah, a blogger who was detained by the army after clashes outside the state media offices, or Maspiro, left 25 protesters dead in October.
