By IANS,
Cairo: Protesters in the Egyptian city of Alexandria stormed the headquarters of the state security agency after there were reports that officers were destroying key documents, according to the BBC.
Many people were injured after police inside the building fired at the protesters late Friday. The clashes came to an end after soldiers arrived and took control of the building.
Witnesses said officers inside were trying to destroy papers.
The military council, which has been running the country since president Hosni Mubarak stepped down Feb 11, announced Friday that a referendum on constitutional reform in the country would be held March 19.
Caretaker Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who was appointed by the military council, has vowed to meet protesters’ demands for change. He replaced Ahmed Shafiq, who was appointed during the last days of the Mubarak regime.
“I will do my utmost to realise your demands,” Sharaf told a gathering of an estimated 10,000 people in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
“I pray that Egypt will be a free country and that its security apparatus will serve the citizens,” Sharaf said.
The protesters had planned Friday’s rally to call for the resignation of Ahmed Shafiq, but went ahead with it as a celebration of the appointment of Sharaf.
A US-educated civil engineer, Sharaf stepped down from the cabinet five years ago and actively supported the revolution, joining the protests in the capital’s streets.