Egyptians Protest Amid Cabinet Resignation

Egypt's ruling military council considered whether to accept the resignation of the entire cabinet Monday in light of violent clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square between police and protesters, the Guardian reports. 

The military-appointed cabinet submitted its resignation Sunday due to what they call political irresponsibility. The cabinet will stay on to run the nation's day-to-day affairs until an ultimate government power is named. The country's parliament elections are set to take place on Novemeber 28th. 

"Considering the difficult circumstances the country is going through in the current period, the government will continue to perform its full duties until a decision on the resignation is made," Cabinet spokesman Mohamed Hegazy said, according to state news service Middle East News Agency. 

Minister of Culture Emad Abou Ghazi said his resignation came in protest to the governement’s handling of the recent events in Tahrir Square.

“I have resigned and will not take it back. It is true my decision is late, but I won’t reconsider,” Abou Ghazi told state-owned Al-Ahram Online.

The resignation comes after the third straight day of violence. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at mobs surging toward the Interior Ministry in Cario. At least 24 people have been killed while more than 1,750 were injured. The protests have spread to other cities around the country, including the coastal city of Alexandria, where one of the deaths took place.

If Egypt’s military council accepts this resignation, many protestors question who will replace the Cabinet in the next election. Although Egypt will begin parliamentary election next week, activists believe that military generals will dominate the next government. The military says it will hand over power only after presidential elections, which it has vaguely said will be held in late 2012 or early 2013.

Overnight, police hit one of the field clinics with heavy barrages of tear gas, forcing the staff to flee, struggling to carry out the wounded. Some were moved to a nearby sidewalk outside a fast food restaurant. A video surfaced of a soldier dragging the motionless body of a protester along the street and leaving him in a garbage-strewn section of Tahrir.

"I will keep coming back until they kill me," said protester Mohammed Sayyed, his head bandaged from a rubber bullet wound. "The people are frustrated. Nothing changed for the better."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.