CROWDS ARE BUILDING in Tahrir Square again this evening after numbers eased somewhat earlier today.

Police and protesters have clashed in Cairo and in Alexandria for the fifth day in a row amid demands the country’s military step down immediately.

A number of makeshift field hospitals have been set up in one part of Cairo’s Tahrir Square to deal with growing numbers of people injured in clashes with police. Over 30 people have died since the unrest began on Saturday and hundreds have been injured.

Riot police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, but have not deterred crowds from gathering on the streets.

Human Rights Watch has called on the Egyptian military to direct riot police to cease using force against protesters. The US-based group said yesterday that police should also reduce their numbers in the Tahrir Square area to a level that would maintain a security presence, but allow the free assembly of people.

HRW also says it has received reports from doctors saying that six of the dead were fatally injured with live rounds and some appeared to have been shot from a height.

Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Monday that at least 17 media workers had been assaulted in the violence. The CPJ also said that Egyptian prosecutors are obliged to investigate the claims and that journalists should be able to continue their work without the threat of attack.