CAIRO — Egyptians set up protest tent camps in city squares across the country, vowing Saturday they would not leave until Egypt’s temporary military rulers purge the remnants of Hosni Mubarak’s deposed regime.
The demonstrators also demanded that those responsible for killing hundreds during the uprising that ousted Mubarak be brought to justice.
Tent cities sprang up in major cities, including Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, as well as outlying provinces, in the most far-flung and organized attempt in recent months to pressure the military council that is to lead Egypt to democracy.
Prime Minster Essam Sharaf addressed the nation later Saturday, promising to suspend all officers accused of killing protesters and to speed up court cases against them and others accused of corruption.
Mohammed ElBaradei, a leading pro-democracy campaigner and presidential hopeful, warned in a tweet Saturday: “The gap between the people and the rulers is getting wider. There must be a quick and decisive response to the revolution’s demands.”
The exhilaration of Mubarak’s Feb. 11 ouster, after 18 days of mass protests, has yielded to widespread frustration that “the revolution” has stalled.
Many complain that although Mubarak and many hated figures under him have lost power, the key elements of his regime remain in the judiciary, the police and the civil service.
In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, hundreds awoke Saturday from their first night in makeshift tents.
“We removed the tip at the top, but the rest of the building is still intact,” said Abdel Hadi Abdel Rahim, a farmer in his 50s who camped out at the square, the center of the February uprising.
