Soldiers beat Egypt protesters in Cairo square

Witnesses say a heavy force of military police attacked hundreds of protesters in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, beating and arresting them and shooting in the air.

They say around 300 soldiers backed by armored vehicles descended on the square around 3 a.m. Saturday, firing long stretches of automatic gunfire in the air. The soldiers stormed into a tent camp in the center of the square, beating and dragging away protesters.

Around 200 protesters, many of them injured, took refuge in a nearby mosque which was surrounded by troops, witnesses inside the mosque said.