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Tahrir Square opened to traffic
A woman crosses Tahrir square entrance, which is blocked by armored vehicles and barbed wire, during the fourth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, January 25, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
CAIRO, Jan 28 (Aswat Masriya) - Cairo's Tahrir Square was opened to traffic on Wednesday after being temporarily closed following the dismantling of an explosive device nearby, an eye witness said.
An Interior Ministry source had told Aswat Masriya that the decision to close the square was "precautionary".
Mamdouh Abdel Qader, director of the civil protection administration in Cairo, said a public bus was also set ablaze near the square earlier on Wednesday.
Wednesday marks the fourth anniversary of a call for protests dubbed "Friday of rage", a turning point in the 18-day uprising which toppled the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The 2011 nationwide protests turned deadly when security forces attacked protesters, shortly before withdrawing from the streets.
Security forces sealed off Tahrir Square on Saturday night, in anticipation of protests commemorating the uprising's fourth anniversary on Sunday. The square was closed until Monday morning.
At least 23 died in the violence which erupted nationwide on Sunday, while the Interior Ministry announced the arrest of 516 nationwide.
