Egypt sacks more than 600 senior policemen as reform continues

CAIRO, Jul 15: Egypt's military rulers have dismissed more than 600 senior police officers accused of killing protesters during the 18-day popular uprising that eventually ousted President Hosni Mubarak, officials said on Wednesday.

HATED POLICE... Unlike the military, Egypt's police had supported the Mubarak regime and acted brutally on demonstrators earlier this year

Interior Minister Mansour Essawy said 669 senior police officers, including 505 Major-Generals, would be removed from their posts on August 1. He also promised to hold those behind the killings responsible for their actions.

Essawy described the move as "the biggest shake-up in the history of the police," and stressed that it was in line with the widespread demands "to get rid of all of the leadership that is accused of killing protesters."

Without explaining further, Essawy said more than 4,000 officers would also be rotated or transferred in the planned reorganization of the police force. Meanwhile, the state news agency reported that those being dismissed included 37 officers facing charges of killing protesters.

The move came as hundreds of protesters continued their sit-in at Cairo's Tahrir Square, which was the nerve center of the uprising. They demanded faster implementation of political reforms promised by the military rulers and speedier prosecution of security officials responsible for the deaths during the unrest.

Angry over the slow pace of change after Mubarak's fall, the protesters were also demanding fresh elections that would lead to the formation of a new government, an end to military trials of civilian protesters and speedier trials of corrupt officials of the ousted regime. The sit-in protest began last Friday following a court granting bail to seven policemen accused of killing 17 protesters.