Mass Anti-Government Protests Spread Across Egypt
A protester waves an Egyptian flag as demonstrators in Cairo are being hit by police water canon, January 28, 2011
Tens of thousands of Egyptians flooded into the streets after Friday prayers in mounting demonstrations calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak＇s 30-year rule.
Violence was reported in Suez and Alexandria along with several areas in Cairo. The Reuters news agency reported a protester＇s body being carried through the streets in Suez by angry demonstraters.
The Associated Press says Nobel peace laureate and Egyptian activist Mohamed ElBaradei is under house arrest. Earlier, the news agency said Egyptian authorities had fired water cannons at ElBaradei. He is a former U.N. atomic energy chief who returned to Egypt from Austria Thursday saying he was willing to lead an opposition movement.
Across central Cairo, where some of the larger demonstrations are taking place, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets and hit protesters with sticks. Trucks of police armed with water cannons lined avenues in the city as government forces attempted to disperse crowds.
Television video has shown protesters on a bridge in Cairo throwing rocks at an armored security vehicle in an attempt to force the vehicle＇s driver to turn around. Elsewhere, large groups of chanting demonstrators marched through the streets shaking their raised fists.
Television footage from Suez shows demonstrators throwing rocks at security vehicles and thick black smoke pouring from a building. Demonstrations also erupted in other cities, with protesters waving the red, white and black Egyptian flag.
Internet service, a key tool for activists, was shut down across the country shortly after midnight. Cell phone text messaging and data plans were also disabled. Telecom company Vodafone says the Egyptian government ordered all mobile telephone operators to suspend service in parts of the country.
Earlier, Egypt＇s largest opposition group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, says at least five senior leaders and five former members of parliament were arrested in raids.
The group has said it will join protests, but has not organized the demonstrations that have been spearheaded by young people angry at poor living standards and authoritarian rule.
At least five people have been killed and the government says 800 people have been detained since Tuesday. Human rights groups say there have been more than 2,000 arrests.
The 82-year-old Egyptian president has not been seen or heard from since the protests began Tuesday. He has not said if he will seek re-election this year.
In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama said political reforms were "absolutely critical" to Egypt＇s "long-term well-being," boosting pressure on Mr. Mubarak to implement changes while acknowledging he is a critical U.S. ally.
In his first comments on the unrest in Egypt, Mr. Obama on Thursday urged the government and the protesters to refrain from violence.
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