Mubarak will step down: Brotherhood

Egyptians attend anti-government demo in Cairo on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162481.html

The Muslim Brotherhood has said that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be stepping down.

At 11:51 p.m. Cairo time on Friday night, the Muslim Brotherhood's website Ikhwanweb.com posted the sentence: “Semi-confirmed: The dictator will step down, his family fled the country secretly.”

Tens of thousands of protesters across the country turned out after Friday prayers and clashed with police.

Egyptian authorities shut down internet and cell phone service in the country on Thursday and imposed a curfew in major cities.

At least 21 people have been killed and dozens of others have been injured since the demonstrations against unemployment, corruption, and rising prices began four days ago.

Over 1,000 people have been arrested during the protests.

Worldwide protests back Egypt uprising

Riot police force protestors back across the Kasr Al Nile Bridge as they attempt to get into Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on January 28, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162430.html

Hundreds of people around the world have held demonstrations near Egyptian embassies to support the ongoing protests against President Hosni Mubarak.

In Turkey, groups of people gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara in a show of solidarity with protesters in Egypt.

In London, demonstrators called on the Egyptian authorities to avoid the use of force against protesters.

In the Tunisian capital of Tunis, a similar rally was held in front of the Egyptian Embassy to support the uprising in Egypt.

"We are here to say that the Tunisian people are behind the Egyptian people. They have suffered in the way that we suffered. It's time for change," AFP quoted one protester as saying.

A demonstration is also expected in Germany to show solidarity with Egyptian protesters.

Egyptian security forces have clashed with protesters in the capital Cairo and several other cities where rallies are held against the government of Mubarak.

Thousands of protesters have defied an overnight curfew and to stay on Cairo's streets.

The Egyptian government initially announced an overnight curfew in the districts of greater Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. But later it was extended to the whole country.

Security forces have been replaced with army troops on the streets of Alexandria while reports say security forces have opened fire on thousands of protesters in Suez.

Latest reports say at least five people have been killed during Friday's protests, bringing to 14 the number of those killed in the unrest. Scores of others have been wounded in the massive protests.

Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, earlier called on all Egyptians to take to the streets. Sources say the opposition leaders brace for massive arrests across the country.

The Egyptian government has cut all cell-phone and Internet services amid anti-government demonstrations that began after the Friday prayers.

The army has also been brought in and military vehicles are seen on the streets of the capital following violent clashes between police and protesters.

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei was among other top figures, who attended the rally.

Reports say ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest after joining the massive anti-government protests in Cairo.

Security forces initially prevented ElBaradei from leaving a mosque in Giza.

The mosque was under siege for several hours before ElBaradei was put under house arrest.

ElBaradei has said he would help head a transitional government if Mubarak steps down.

Many more people including opposition activists have been arrested. Protesters want an end to the decades-long rule of Mubarak.

13 killed in Suez in 4 days

Tear gas is used during anti-government demonstrations in Suez, Egypt

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162480.html

At least 13 people have been killed and 75 injured in anti-government demonstrations in the Egyptian city of Suez over the past four days.

On Friday, thousands of Egyptian protesters stormed the main police station in the port city of Suez, overwhelming security forces and raising an even bigger challenge to the embattled regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

The protesters freed prisoners from the city jail, destroyed armored police vehicles, then sacked the building and looted its contents.

The demonstrators emerged from Friday prayers at mosques in Suez and confronted police outside the station. Police fired at the demonstrators, who then surged forward to take over the police station. The protesters dragged fleeing riot police off their motorbikes and seized their batons and equipment, AFP reported.

They also set at least a half dozen armored vehicles on fire.

After storming the police station, protesters removed its contents -- refrigerators, desks, files, and other equipment

Friday evening was the first time the army was deployed on the streets. It was not immediately clear what role it would play or how troops would react to the protesters.

Some demonstrators held banners saying: "Everyone against one" and chanted "Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful, no violence." Others threw shoes at and stamped on posters of Mubarak.

As clashes intensified, police waded into the crowds with batons and fired volleys of tear gas.

On Thursday, the Egyptian government vowed to crack down on demonstrations and arrest participants and went so far as to block the internet, mobile phones, and SMS services on Thursday night in order to disrupt the planned demonstrations.

Before Egypt shut down internet access, activists were posting and exchanging messages using social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, listing more than 30 mosques and churches where protesters were to organize on Friday.

'US supports Mubarak, not Egyptians'

Riot police clash with protestors on the Kasr Al Nile Bridge, Cairo, on January 28, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162467.html

A political analyst says the US call on the Egyptian authorities to heed demands for reforms is a charade, as Washington will continue to support President Hosni Mubarak.

In an apparent change of tone, the Obama administration on Friday expressed its deep concerns about the use of violence by Egyptian police and security forces against protesters and urged Egyptian authorities to respect citizens' rights.

"Events unfolding in Egypt are of deep concern. Fundamental rights must be respected, violence avoided and open communications allowed," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley tweeted.

Crowley's remarks, however, contradicts Washington's earlier stance on Egypt's protests which were accompanied by mild expressions of support for Mubarak.

"Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he's been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing relationship with-with Israel. …I would not refer to him as a dictator," US Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday.

Some political analysts, however, believe that there is no change in the US stance toward Egypt and that Washington still fully supports Mubarak's regime.

"There is no ambiguity about what [the US] stance is. The Egyptian military and police are completely supported and backed by the US and by the Central Intelligence Agency," the author of The Hidden History of Zionism Ralph Schoenman told Press TV in an interview.

"It's a country selling regime that does the bidding of US and Israeli policy in the region at the expense of the very livelihood and survival of its own people," he added.

On Friday, tens of thousands of protesters across the country turned out after Friday prayers and clashed with police.

In response to the mass protests, Egyptian authorities shut down Internet and cell services in the country and imposed curfew in major cities.

So far, at least 14 people have been killed and dozens of others have been injured since the protests against unemployment, corruption and rising prices began four days ago.

Up to 1,000 people have been arrested during the protests.