Egyptian protester
© UPIEgyptian demonstrators protest in Cairo's main square square during the biggest anti-government protests in three decades in a bid to topple the government President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Egypt on January 31, 2011.
A few dozen Egyptian protesters who have held out in Cairo's Tahrir Square were cordoned by military police and soldiers on Monday, and they said they had been told by the army to leave or face arrest.

Traffic flowed relatively unhindered through the square, the hub of the mass uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak on Friday.

"We have half an hour left, we are cordoned by military police. We don't know what to do. We are discussing what to do now," one of the protesters, Yahya Saqr, told Reuters, adding that a senior officer "told us we have one hour to empty the square or we will be arrested".

Military police in red berets surrounded the protesters, who numbered about 40. The head of the military police was at the scene. Activists said two protesters had been detained.

Most of the anti-Mubarak banners which had adorned the square had been removed. Images of young Egyptians killed in the unrest, hailed as "martyrs of the revolution", still hung from lampposts.

Volunteers cleared rubbish and swept the streets. Some removed what was left of the blankets and bedding used by the protesters who had camped out in the square for two weeks.

In the central traffic circle, covered in dozens of tents until Sunday, motorists were greeted by a large Egyptian flag. On it was written: "It's a beautiful day in Tahrir Square. We love you Egypt."