Health Minister Amr Helmy has acknowledged the use of live ammunition, cartridge and rubber bullets in Tahrir Square since Saturday.
Prosecutors are investigating the source of the bullets.
During his inspection of the make-shift hospitals in the square on Wednesday, Helmy said he decided to form a committee to examine the type of teargas used and the degree to which it is toxic, vowing to announce the results of the tests as soon as they are completed.
He also said that he personally saw some of the teargas canisters that were used, and that they are made in the United States and are not expired, adding that their effect would be less if they were expired.
The minister, however, firmly ruled out the use of a nerve agent in the gas. “The seizure and fainting symptoms were from the teargas,” he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
