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Egyptians take to the streets for fifth day defying president, police

By Agence France-Presse
Saturday, January 29, 2011 10:27 EST
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CAIRO – Tens of thousands of Egyptians Saturday snubbed Hosni Mubarak’s promised reforms and took their deadly revolt to the streets for a fifth day on Saturday, with dissident Mohamed ElBaradei vowing to press the embattled president until he goes.

Riots erupted anew in several cities, including Cairo, and an enraged mob killed three police in the Sinai town of Rafah, bringing the overall death toll from the nationwide protests to at least 48 since Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of angry citizens streamed into central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, one of the focal points for street battles that have raged around Egypt, chanting: “Mubarak out!” as troops looked on.

“We came here to say we don’t want you (Mubarak) at all; we want you out of the country,” lawyer Mohammed Osama, 25, told AFP as the army announced that a night-time curfew would be enforced and extended in key cities.

Police who have been battling protesters with tear gas, water cannon and rubber-coated bullets were largely absent after being overwhelmed by protesters on Friday, while tanks were deployed on the square and at strategic sites around the capital.

The government resigned, a measure Mubarak promised in a televised address just after midnight, and the president was due to appoint a new cabinet after stating firmly that he had no intention of stepping down.

Protesters have been demanding not only Mubarak’s departure but an end to endemic state corruption and police brutality that have become systematic under the president’s 30-year rule.

One key thing people will be watching is whether widely hated Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, who has been in office since 1997 and who is responsible for the security apparatus, will keep his job.

They dismissed the 82-year-old’s vague promises of reform as too little, too late, and seem to want nothing less than Mubarak’s departure.

Nobel Laureate ElBaradei, who has said he would be prepared to lead an eventual transition if asked, said he would join the street protests on Saturday to tell Mubarak he “must go.”

“President Mubarak did not understand the message of the Egyptian people,” ElBaradei told France 24 television. “His speech was totally disappointing. The protests will continue with even more intensity until the Mubarak regime falls.”

The banned Muslim Brotherhood, the most well-organised opposition group in the country, which did not throw its support behind the protests until Thursday, took the initiative on Saturday to call for a peaceful transfer of power through a transitional cabinet.

Fifty leaders of the Brotherhood were among more than 350 people arrested on Friday.

A curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez that was largely ignored on Friday night was extended from 4:00 pm to 8:00 am, state television said, with the army warning people not to gather in public places.

The armed forces urged “the great people of Egypt … to refrain from congregating in main roads or public squares, and to obey a curfew,” according to a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.

“Legal measures will be taken against those in violation,” it said.
The army, unlike the repressive police, is widely respected in Egypt, and its appearance on the streets was generally welcomed.

Despite the curfew, shops and offices were looted overnight.

Police detained around 14 people on one Cairo bridge, saying they were looters and forcing them to kneel, hands behind their heads.

“We’ve been left without anything because of the people, but still we have to catch the thieves,” one officer told AFP.

Some 60 percent of Egypt’s police stations reportedly have reportedly been torched by angry demonstrators.

“Those people want change, but did they think that if they destroyed a police station and used violence the thieves would not come into their midst,” the policeman asked.

Clashes also erupted in the key port city of Ismailiya, northeast of the capital, where thousands of workers fought running battles with police.

In Alexandria, hundreds of people camped out by the main mosque in the centre of the Mediterranean city vowing to protest again, with several police stations still burning amid sporadic looting.

As in Cairo, tanks were deployed and the police were absent. Civilians directed traffic and conducted clean-up efforts.

In Tahrir Square, thousands chanted: “Those who love Egypt, don’t destroy it.”

Despite the ongoing protests, two Cairo mobile phone networks came back on line on Saturday, a day after all Egyptian operators were told to cut services.

But Internet access appeared still to be cut, with the inability to use microblogging sites such as Twitter or social networking sites such as Facebook affecting activists’ coordination of their activities.

US President Barack Obama called on the Egyptian authorities not to use violence against the political protests, driving home his message in a 30-minute phone call with Mubarak.

Obama urged Mubarak to take “concrete” steps towards political reforms, saying he must turn “a moment of volatility” into “a moment of promise.”

Washington has toughened its line on a key Middle Eastern ally, warning Egypt it would review billions of dollars in aid based on the behaviour of its security forces.

Egypt is one of the world’s largest recipients of US aid, receiving $1.3 billion annually in military assistance alone.

Demonstrators also torched the Cairo headquarters of Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party, which was still burning on Saturday as civilians cleared the burned-out carcasses of police vehicles from the road.

The demonstrations, inspired by events in Tunisia, are the largest in Egypt in the three decades of Mubarak’s rule, sending shock waves across the region.

At least 1,500 civilians and 1,000 police have been injured since Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the outside world was reacting nervously to events in Egypt.

Travel agencies postponed departures for popular tourist destination on Saturday, as capitals issued new warnings to their citizens to avoid visiting the country.

On Friday, stocks fell in New York where the perception of growing instability in the Middle East overshadowed a strong US GDP report.

On Saturday, the Saudi stock market, the Arab world’s largest, dropped 6.43 percent on the soaring tensions in Egypt.

And the Cairo exchange, which was due due to start a new week of trading on Sunday after losing at least 10 percent this week, said it will remain closed for the day along with the nation’s banks.

Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
AFP journalists cover wars, conflicts, politics, science, health, the environment, technology, fashion, entertainment, the offbeat, sports and a whole lot more in text, photographs, video, graphics and online.
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  • http://www.philipbrennan.net/2011/01/29/january-25th-revolution-update-thread-for-2011-01-29/ January 25th Revolution Update Thread for 2011-01-29 | Philip Brennan

    [...] Agence France-Presse | Raw Story | Egyptians take to the streets for fifth day defying president, police [...]

  • http://topsy.com/www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/egyptians-take-to-the-streets-for-fifth-day-defying-president-police/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention Egyptians take to the streets for fifth day defying president, police | Raw Story — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Raw Story, southernmatrix and Chael Montgomery, crystal. crystal said: RT @RawStory: Egyptians take to the streets for fifth day defying president, police http://j.mp/eG9SYZ [...]

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/EHJJXSTSSOCXLTSQBUVIDYUF7M Dave

    They need to target rich neighborhoods when they riot.

    Thats how you hurt the ruling class and get their attention.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QHIMELQFT7T66KZ4ZSEZM6U6D4 Anonymous

    Maybe the UN needs to place term limits on the leaders of its member nations. 15 years maximum should be enough to fulfill a mandate. It wouldn’t be a solution but a great start.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QHIMELQFT7T66KZ4ZSEZM6U6D4 Anonymous

    Maybe the UN needs to place term limits on the leaders of its member nations. 15 years maximum should be enough to fulfill a mandate. It wouldn’t be a solution but a great start.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QHIMELQFT7T66KZ4ZSEZM6U6D4 Anonymous

    Maybe the UN needs to place term limits on the leaders of its member nations. 15 years maximum should be enough to fulfill a mandate. It wouldn’t be a solution but a great start.

  • Taleisin

    Soldiers do not make good police. They have very different training.
    Let us hope they are not ordered to use that training.

  • Taleisin

    Soldiers do not make good police. They have very different training.
    Let us hope they are not ordered to use that training.

  • Taleisin

    Soldiers do not make good police. They have very different training.
    Let us hope they are not ordered to use that training.

  • Taleisin

    Sorry, stuffed up.

  • Taleisin

    Sorry, stuffed up.

  • Taleisin

    Sorry, stuffed up.

  • http://twitter.com/btmfdrsheaven rebecca meritt

    the internet appears to still be cut? I hope they didn’t interfere with the TBN,Daystar,GOD TV,broadcasts,maybe they have a separate dish system. Send in your dollars we need more proselytizing that’ll stop all this chaos.

  • http://twitter.com/btmfdrsheaven rebecca meritt

    the internet appears to still be cut? I hope they didn’t interfere with the TBN,Daystar,GOD TV,broadcasts,maybe they have a separate dish system. Send in your dollars we need more proselytizing that’ll stop all this chaos.

  • http://twitter.com/btmfdrsheaven rebecca meritt

    the internet appears to still be cut? I hope they didn’t interfere with the TBN,Daystar,GOD TV,broadcasts,maybe they have a separate dish system. Send in your dollars we need more proselytizing that’ll stop all this chaos.

  • http://twitter.com/btmfdrsheaven rebecca meritt

    The ruling class is over here,and the rich neighborhoods are in the good ole USofA.

  • http://twitter.com/btmfdrsheaven rebecca meritt

    The ruling class is over here,and the rich neighborhoods are in the good ole USofA.

  • http://twitter.com/btmfdrsheaven rebecca meritt

    The ruling class is over here,and the rich neighborhoods are in the good ole USofA.

  • Anonymous

    OK we get it. Mubarak bad. Egypt bad. Riots bad. 20 Egyptian headlines bad.

    How about Raw gets back into the DOMESTIC news business again. You are spoiling my Saturday. I have no place to post my smartass comments.

  • Anonymous

    OK we get it. Mubarak bad. Egypt bad. Riots bad. 20 Egyptian headlines bad.

    How about Raw gets back into the DOMESTIC news business again. You are spoiling my Saturday. I have no place to post my smartass comments.

  • Anonymous

    OK we get it. Mubarak bad. Egypt bad. Riots bad. 20 Egyptian headlines bad.

    How about Raw gets back into the DOMESTIC news business again. You are spoiling my Saturday. I have no place to post my smartass comments.

  • Anonymous

    fuck the UN

  • Anonymous

    fuck the UN

  • Anonymous

    fuck the UN

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/PSKROFVS7E4PVTI2CEPLFWEJII John

    After eye witnessing the events at Kent State University back on May 4th, 1970,I came to a conclusion that “rioting” really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. In all the years since, I’ve never gone back for seconds.

    However, my hat is off to these people in Egypt. The people in the streets seem to cross a lot of different lines…rich and poor….various religions and political groupings. They sure as hell seem to want to toss that old fart Mubarak.

    I wonder if he has a good pension and medical that will work at his next address?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/PSKROFVS7E4PVTI2CEPLFWEJII John

    After eye witnessing the events at Kent State University back on May 4th, 1970,I came to a conclusion that “rioting” really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. In all the years since, I’ve never gone back for seconds.

    However, my hat is off to these people in Egypt. The people in the streets seem to cross a lot of different lines…rich and poor….various religions and political groupings. They sure as hell seem to want to toss that old fart Mubarak.

    I wonder if he has a good pension and medical that will work at his next address?

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/PSKROFVS7E4PVTI2CEPLFWEJII John

    After eye witnessing the events at Kent State University back on May 4th, 1970,I came to a conclusion that “rioting” really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. In all the years since, I’ve never gone back for seconds.

    However, my hat is off to these people in Egypt. The people in the streets seem to cross a lot of different lines…rich and poor….various religions and political groupings. They sure as hell seem to want to toss that old fart Mubarak.

    I wonder if he has a good pension and medical that will work at his next address?

  • Anonymous

    The people of poverty has had a enough. They want housing, health care, food, and jobs.

    This is the time to send in the Republican Party from the U.S. The Republican party will take care of the problem. Just like they do here. They will bring their brand of obstruction, their no ideas, their holier than though attitude and the most brilliant rhetoric of all such as:

    Why don’t these people get a job instead of being so bored and busted?

    Oh and the solution to all of Egypt’s problem: Tax cuts for the rich.

  • Anonymous

    The people of poverty has had a enough. They want housing, health care, food, and jobs.

    This is the time to send in the Republican Party from the U.S. The Republican party will take care of the problem. Just like they do here. They will bring their brand of obstruction, their no ideas, their holier than though attitude and the most brilliant rhetoric of all such as:

    Why don’t these people get a job instead of being so bored and busted?

    Oh and the solution to all of Egypt’s problem: Tax cuts for the rich.

  • Anonymous

    The people of poverty has had a enough. They want housing, health care, food, and jobs.

    This is the time to send in the Republican Party from the U.S. The Republican party will take care of the problem. Just like they do here. They will bring their brand of obstruction, their no ideas, their holier than though attitude and the most brilliant rhetoric of all such as:

    Why don’t these people get a job instead of being so bored and busted?

    Oh and the solution to all of Egypt’s problem: Tax cuts for the rich.

  • Anonymous

    Egypt Protests Rage On After Mubarak Speech (AJ)
    Military tanks were sent into various cities throughout Egypt in President Hosni Mubarak’s attempt to restore order. The president also addressed Egyptians on television last night, promising reform. But protesters continue to demand that his resignation. http://www.newslook.com/videos/286971-egypt-protests-rage-on-after-mubarak-speech?autoplay=true

  • Anonymous

    Egypt Protests Rage On After Mubarak Speech (AJ)
    Military tanks were sent into various cities throughout Egypt in President Hosni Mubarak’s attempt to restore order. The president also addressed Egyptians on television last night, promising reform. But protesters continue to demand that his resignation. http://www.newslook.com/videos/286971-egypt-protests-rage-on-after-mubarak-speech?autoplay=true

  • Anonymous

    This spoiled your Saturday? Jesus man, what sort of mundane hell do you live in? Your attempts to be ‘edgy’ by brandishing unpopular, apathetic sentiment and your self-celebrating assertion of being a “smartass” with the intent to portray yourself as edgy and witty to strangers just screams of self-validation and issues with self-esteem.

  • Anonymous

    Hey, guys don’t forget. ‘W’ used the Egyptians to torture our terror suspects after 9/11. They were that “unnamed third country” where we flew people to, under the wink and nod understanding, to get information without being ‘cruel’.

  • Anonymous

    the american Empire appears to be starting to come apart at the seams

    - i count at least four arab/moslem nations at some level of revolt – tunisia, egypt, jordan, yemen and then perhaps next algeria….

  • http://worlduntaintednews.com/archives/2350 World Untainted News » Blog Archive » Egyptians take to the streets for fifth day defying president, police

    [...] Source: [...]

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Zentrails/100001475536421 Bob Zentrails

    We have empires composed of Arab countries?

    I’d love to hear you logic defending that absurd accusation. LOL

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Zentrails/100001475536421 Bob Zentrails

    Great idea. LOL

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Zentrails/100001475536421 Bob Zentrails

    Yeah, their nightstick skills are clearly lacking. LOL

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bob-Zentrails/100001475536421 Bob Zentrails

    I can think of at least one who is from Australia. LOL

  • Anonymous

    You mean the evil “Empire of Amerika”.

  • Anonymous

    Best first-hand article about Egypt I have seen, it sounds like the people are coming together from all angles…
    http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/30
    “The Muslim Brotherhood was out in full force today. At one point they began chanting “Allah Akbar” only to be drowned out by much louder chants of “Muslim, Christian, we are all Egyptian”
    “People worry that Mubarak is intentionally trying to create chaos to somehow convince people that he is needed. The strategy is failing. Residents have taken matters into their own hands, helping to direct traffic and forming armed neighborhood watches, complete with checkpoints and shift changes, in districts across the city.”

    Another good article showing what wikileaks really has to say about Egypt + US relations. A bit different from that earlier RS article, with that US secretly helping crap.
    http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/30
    “Another cable, from March 2009, shows the US’s astonishingly intimate military relationship with Egypt” – follow the money…

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/42THFKXIPMJHQBIH6OPI4RVIDY Thebes

    Reports I am reading are that deaths number in the low hundreds.
    Thats not protests, its a revolution.
    Global Revolution is afoot, dictators beware!

  • Phil E. Drifter

    Just announced on NBC10′s Today Show: The Egyptian government has shut down the Al Jazeera network.

  • Anonymous

    There seems to be a spiritual wave spreading accross the Middle East — a demand for freedom, which as Pres. Obama has stated and everyone knows, is a basic universal right. Surely, the uprising in Egypt and Tunisia can be seen as a victory for the forces of light on this planet and for humanity as a whole. For those of us who know how to work with the energy of light, love and goodwill, we must direct this energy into that region, aiding those forces of light already working for reconstruction.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Today, they have those proudly made in the USA fighter jets that have massacred millions the world over, flying low over the crowds in Cairo. The army is not so friendly anymore. I’m watching all of this with very heavy heart. I fear the worst for the courageous people of Egypt.

    This from The Guardian:

    2.51pm:CloseLink to this update: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jan/30/egypt-protests-live-updates?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments#block-35 Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director from Human Rights Watch, has a grim update on the rising death toll in Suez.

    Just back from Suez where we met the director of the main hospital, who confirmed 17 dead so far. Two were shot dead yesterday. On Friday 12 were killed by gunfire and another 104 were injured. On Thursday three were killed.

    The atmosphere in Suez is tense, the big complaint is the absence of security. A lot of rubble in the streets from stone-throwing, street battles etc. The army is out in force, tanks are stationed on the streets and the area around the main government buildings is completely blocked off. A major police station that on Thursday was surrounded by security and said to be holding many detainees picked up at protests was torched and is now gutted.

    Police and government officials have pulled out so there are no government services – the governor has been gone since Tuesday so there’s a power vacuum. People formed impromptu block committees to provide local security, armed (they say) with only sticks and kitchen knives. The locals say the only people with weapons are police who’ve taken off their uniforms and are responsible for most of the looting and crime.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Too bad that Obama himself doesn’t believe in his words anymore than the people of Egypt believe the words of Hosni Mubarak.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Yes! And they’re pulling a US corporate media by showing old pictures of peaceful scenes while the streets are brimming with protesters and they fly fighter jets over them, threatening. If you go to Al Jaazera, you will see a side by side pic of what the Egyptian state-owned media is showing vs. what is really happening. Truly frightening and disturbing.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    You may wanna watch this too, live: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/al-jazeera/

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Huh?

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Forget the tanks. They’ve sent in the Air Force now:

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/al-jazeera/

  • Johnny Warbucks

    I hear FAUX Nation is looking for posters…

    They may be able to pay you to post your smartass comments too.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    I think he’s trying to be funny. Do you think it’s working?

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Hey, FAUX Nation called. They miss you over there.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Exactly! If the UN weren’t the US puppet it is, they would have already gone in and arrested Hosni Mubarak, or at the least, made him leave. There is no denying – not to the US, not to the Egyptians Zionist neighbors – that the people of Egypt have spoken and they want Mubarak out.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    They’ll never do that. The looters are the cops in plain clothes. They know who they work for.

  • Johnny Warbucks

    Are you getting paid by post troll?