Mohamed Atef’s eye-witness account from Cairo reports on how women’s marches of solidarity are feeding protests in Tahrir Square.

Today’s women’s march in Tahrir

Today marches from three universities and more than 8 colleges are heading to Tahrir Square in solidarity with those protesting against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ (SCAF) brutal attacks on demonstrators, now entering its fifth day. A march from Ain Shams University decided to go for an open sit-in at the door of the Ministry of Defence (Headquarters of SCAF).

A massive march of women just reached Tahrir Square chanting ‘Where are the solders… We are here’. Meanwhile, in many other Egyptian cities sit-ins and mass demonstrations in solidarity with Tahrir have begun. This comes after the sit-in by well-known public figures which started yesterday at Attorney General’s Office, not far from the Syndicate of Journalists.

In the Upper Egyptian Governorate Assiut (190 miles south of Cairo) military personnel attacked a peaceful march in front of the Central Military Headquarters and assaulted a woman in the same way as they did two days ago in Tahrir.

Yesterday’s SCAF press conference has provoked all political movements and activists yesterday because it was full of lies and justifications for the military’s attack the protesters, and because it denied any assault on the protestors. Moreover, it was full attempts to incite people against the revolts in Tahrir by claiming that they are intending to burn the People’s Assembly building.

SCAF named specific activists claiming they had bribed street children to attack state buildings. Among these activists Mohamed Hasem, a prominent leftist publisher, who one child mentioned him by the name, giving complete details about his office and its address. On this evidence he will be investigated and the state media will attempt to incite the pro-SCAF mobs to attack his office.

The paradox is that the soundtrack of videos of confessions under interrogation contains clear screams of torture in the background. According to testimonies of activists who were inside the Cabinet office some of those detained were forced to eat the grass in the Cabinet’s garden and to praise Field Marshal Tantawi. One of the detainees died during interrogation from the torture he suffered when he was arrested.

The bloody attacks on protesters by the military police and Airborne forces which started on Friday left have left12 martyrs.

According to Front to Defend Egypt Protesters more than 600 people were injured- dozens of them in critical condition- in addition to hundreds of detainees. At this moment random arrests and kidnapping of activists is still going on in downtown Cairo.