Egypt dismisses 600 police officers over crackdown on protesters

More than 600 top police officers have been fired in Egypt over attacks on protesters during a popular uprising against President Hosni Mubarak, Al Jazeera said. Interior Minister Mansour el-Issawi announced on Wednesday that 505 generals and 164 officers would end their service on August 1, calling the move the biggest reshuffle in the history of the Egyptian police force. The decision comes as protests continue on Cairo's central Tahrir Square, demanding immediate trials of overturned Mubarak, his two sons, as well as all police officers involved in the killing of pro-democracy activists during the January 25 popular uprising. Of those dismissed, 37 police officers are specifically accused of being involved in the killing of protesters on Tahrir Square. Some 800 people are estimated to have lost their lives during the 18-day unrest. The transitional military council, which took over power from Mubarak, announced on Tuesday that parliamentary elections scheduled for September would be delayed until October or November. Some of Egypt's new political parties have called for the elections to be postponed so that they could prepare better to compete against the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful opposition Islamist group. The military said on Tuesday it would draft guidelines for selecting the 100-member assembly to prepare a new constitution.