Soldiers evicted demonstrators from parts of Tahrir Square on Sunday as they tried to restore a measure of normalcy to the Egyptian capital. But tensions flared elsewhere as police and civil servants took advantage of the country’s revolutionary tumult to press their own demands for change.

As daylight broke, soldiers dismantled tents from the makeshift camps that have occupied Tahrir Square since Jan. 25, when protests erupted in Cairo. Some weary demonstrators evacuated voluntarily. Others stood their ground or scuffled with soldiers, though both sides generally refrained from brute force.

By mid-morning, the military had re-opened the square to traffic for the first time in three weeks. But an uneasy mood persisted. A few thousand protesters flocked back to the square as the day unfolded, saying they were not ready to give up. . .