An overnight truce between Egyptian riot police and protesters succeeded on Thursday (November 24) in calming violence that has killed 39 people in five days, but demonstrators occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square vowed to stay until the army gives up power. Demonstrators in Tahrir said the truce had taken hold from midnight. At dawn the area was quiet for the first time in days. Protesters stood together to form barricades, blocking a street leading to the Interior Ministry which has been a flashpoint for much of the violence. The sustained protests in Cairo and some other cities pose the gravest challenge to Egypt's army rulers since the council led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi took over from Hosni Mubarak, overthrown on Feb. 11 by a popular uprising. The demonstrations appear to have polarised Egyptians, many of whom worry that unrest will prolong economic stagnation that has deepened the poverty of millions.
