Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — Egypt’s new prime minister apologised repeatedly today for the previous day’s “catastrophe” in Cairo, blaming infiltrators and a “complete disappearance” of police for the human toll.
Interior Minister Habib Adli, whose office oversees Egypt’s police forces, was among several former officials of President Hosni Mubarak’s government whose assets were frozen, state-run television said. The officials have been banned from traveling outside the country.
The travel ban will remain in effect “until national security is restored and the authorities and monitoring bodies have undergone their investigations,” Nile TV said.
Ahmed Shafiq, appointed prime minister last Saturday, pledged a thorough investigation into Wednesday’s violence in Tahrir Square, the downtown Cairo plaza where the uprising has unfolded with force.
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“This group got in and some clashes happened,” he said, adding that he would look into whether the violence was part of an organized attempt to disband the opposition.
Even as he spoke, foes and supporters of Mubarak’s government continued clashing in Tahrir Square. Pro-Mubarak crowds were smaller Thursday but tension still ran high as people hurled rocks and flashbangs at each other.
The two sides faced off all through the night and earlier Thursday, heavy gunfire reverberated in central Cairo. The military maneuvered to separate the two sides but in the afternoon, in parts of the square, the soldiers were nowhere to be seen.