Egypt's army, police blamed for deadly soccer riot

CAIRO (AP) — Scores of Egyptian soccer fans were crushed to death while others were fatally stabbed or suffocated after being trapped in a long narrow corridor trying to flee rival fans armed with knives, clubs and stones, in the country's worst ever soccer violence that killed at least 74 people, witnesses and health officials said Thursday.

Egyptian fans clash with riot police following Al-Ahly club soccer match against Al-Masry club at the soccer stadium in Port Said, Egypt Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. Some dozens of Egyptian soccer fans were killed Wednesday in violence following a soccer match in Port Said, when fans flooded the field seconds after a match against a rival team was over, Egypt's Health ministry said. (AP Photo)

The tragedy Wednesday evening — which followed an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry, the home team in the Mediterranean city of Port Said, and Al-Ahly, based in Cairo and one of Egypt's most popular teams — was a bloody reminder of deteriorating security in the Arab world's most populous country, as instability continues nearly a year after former President Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.

It was also the deadliest soccer violence worldwide since 1996. One player said it was "like a war."

Egyptian activists have accused the police and military of failing to intervene to stop the mayhem.

On Thursday morning, dozens of angry protesters sealed off Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, while others blocked the street in front of the state TV building in downtown Cairo ahead of planned marches later in the day to the Interior Ministry to denounce the police force.

The melee at the stadium in Port Said erupted when Al-Masry fans stormed the field following a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly. Al-Masry supporters, armed with knives, sticks and stones, chased players and fans from the rival team, Al-Ahly, who ran toward the exits and up the stands to escape, according to witnesses.

Ahmed Ghaffar, one of the visiting Al Ahly fans at the stadium, said "layers of people" were stuck, "suffocating inside a narrow corridor" as they tried to get out of the stadium

"The people were stuck over each other because there was no other exist," Ghaffar tweeted on Thursday. "We were between two choices, either death coming from behind us, or the closed doors."

Ghaffar said that seconds after the match ended, Al-Masry fans rushed onto the pitch from all sides while the police stood by motionless. A power outage followed, he said, and "the soccer field fell into darkness."

"We were surprised the the police let them in that easy. The numbers were huge," he said.

As many Al-Ahly fans crowded into the corridor leading out of the stadium, they were trapped, with the doors at the other end locked.

Ghaffar said Al-Masry fans beat those Al-Ahly fans who fell on the floor and also described several stampedes.

Al-Masry fan, Mohammed Mosleh, posted his account on Facebook, saying he saw "thugs with weapons" on his side in the stadium where police presence was meager.

"This was unbelievable," he said. "We were supposed to be celebrating, not killing people. We defeated Al-Ahly, something I saw twice only in my lifetime. All the people were happy. Nobody expected this."

Health ministry official Hisham Sheha said deaths were caused by stabs by sharp tools, brain hemorrhage and concussions. "All those carried to hospitals were already dead bodies," Sheha told state-TV.

One man told state TV he heard gunshots in the stadium, while a lawmaker from Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood said the police didn't prevent fans carrying knives from entering the stadium.

TV footage showed Al-Ahly players rushing for their locker room as fistfights broke out among the hundreds of fans swarming on to the field. Some men had to rescue a manager from the losing team as he was being beaten. Black-clothed police officers stood by, appearing overwhelmed.

The Interior Ministry said 74 people died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them police. A local health official initially said 1,000 people were injured and it was not clear how severely. Security forces arrested 47 people for involvement in the violence, the statement said.

State TV appealed to Egyptians to donate blood for the injured in Port Said, and the military sent two aircraft to evacuate serious cases to the capital, Cairo.

A number of political parties called on the Egyptian parliament to pass no-confidence vote against the government of Kamal el-Ganzouri, a Mubarak-era politician appointed by the much-critized ruling military council. El-Ganzouri himself held an emergency cabinet meeting early Thursday.

Essam el-Erian, a Brotherhood lawmaker, said the military and police were complicit in the violence, accusing them of trying to show that emergency regulations giving security forces wide-ranging powers must be maintained.

"This tragedy is a result of intentional reluctance by the military and the police," he said.

The trigger for the violence, however, remains a mystery since most of the attackers were from the winning team.

April 6 group, which was among youth groups that led the anti-Mubarak uprising, accused the ruling military of collaboration in the violence.

"Is it logical that the force that managed to secure parliamentary elections in nine provinces can't secure a soccer match where skirmishes among fans were expected," the group said in a statement Thursday.

The organized soccer fans known as Ultras have playing an important role in the anti-Mubarak uprising and rallies against the military rule. Their anti-police songs, peppered with curses, have quickly become viral and an expression of the hatred many Egyptians feel toward security forces that were accused of much of the abuse that was widespread under Mubarak's regime.

In the eyes of political activists, the long enmity between Ultras and much-hated security forces under Mubarak and under the military rule explains why the police stepped aside in the face of deadly brawl.

In a statement signed by Ultras of Al-Ahly, the group said Thursday that the military council and former members of Mubarak's regime were retaliating for the Ultras role in the revolution.

"They want to punish us and execute us for our participation in the revolution against suppression," it said, and vowed a "new war in defense of our revolution."

Source: The Associated Press

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As crowds swell in Cairo, military in crisis talks

CAIRO (AP) — A swelling crowd of tens of thousands filled Cairo's Tahrir Square Tuesday, answering the call for a million people to turn out and intensify pressure on Egypt's military leaders to hand over power to a civilian government. The ruling military council held crisis talks with political parties across the spectrum to try to defuse growing cries for a "second revolution."

Egyptians carry a body of a protester was killed in clashes with the Egyptian riot police during his funeral at Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011.Egypt's civilian Cabinet has offered to resign after three days of violent clashes in many cities between demonstrators and security forces, but the action failed to satisfy protesters deeply frustrated with the new military rulers. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

The military head of state, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, was expected to address the nation as protests in Cairo and other major cities carried on for a fourth day. Security forces stayed out of Tahrir itself to lower the temperature. But there were clashes on side streets leading to the square — the epicenter of the uprising that ousted longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in February.

The new wave of protests and violence around the country that began on Saturday has left 29 dead and has thrown Egypt's politics into chaos less than a week before landmark parliamentary elections were to begin.

"If the elections don't happen, there could be a clash between the army and the people. That's what we're afraid of," said protester Mustafa Abdel-Hamid. He said he wanted a clear timetable for the transfer of power.

"The army is making the same mistake as Mubarak. They hear the demands but respond when it's too late," said Abdel-Hamid, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood who came to Tahrir even though his movement has not endorsed the protests over the past four days.

About 30,000 people were in Tahrir by late afternoon and the crowd was growing steadily — the numbers typically peak at night after everyone gets off work. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, with jubilation over the large turnout mixed with the seething anger directed at the military.

The crowds carried an open wooden coffin with a body of a slain protester wrapped in white and held a funeral in the middle of the square.

A stuffed military uniform was hung from a central light pole with a cardboard sign on its neck saying "Execute the field marshal," a reference to Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister of 20 years. People cheered when the effigy was hung and state television showed some hitting it with sticks.

Men in the square opened a corridor in the middle of the crowds and formed a human chain to keep it open, giving easy access to motorcycles and ambulances ferrying the wounded to several field hospitals in the square.

Further confusing the political situation, the military-backed civilian government on Monday submitted a mass resignation in response to the turmoil.

In a sign it was struggling over how to respond to the fast-changing events, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces — the military body that rules the country — still had not responded to the resignation offer by Tuesday. The council's generals met Tuesday with leaders of all the various political factions, apparently trying to find a replacement government.

But the military has been backed into a difficult corner. Protesters are demanding it surrender the reins of power — or at least set a firm date in the very near future for doing so soon. Without that, few civilian political leaders are likely to join a new government for fear of being tainted as facades for the generals, as many consider the current Cabinet.

The office of leading pro-reform activist Mohamad ElBaradei said the Nobel Peace Laureate did not attend the crisis meeting but was in touch with the military. ElBaradei prefers to continue to act as the link between the military council and the protesters until the crisis is resolved, his office said.

ElBaradei's name has been mentioned by protesters as a suitable replacement for Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who has come under intense criticism for the perceived inefficiency of his civilian government and for being beholden to the ruling generals.

Sharaf pleaded for calm to allow the elections to go ahead on schedule.

"Please calm things down. ... Egypt must come first and it is important that we protect it at this point," he told reporters. He declined to answer a question on whether the military accepted his Cabinet's resignation.

The political uncertainty and prospect of continued violence dealt a punishing blow to an already battered economy.

Egypt's benchmark index plunged more than 5 percent, the third straight day of declines. Banks closed early and many workplaces sent employees home ahead of schedule for fear of a deterioration in security.

Several main roads were closed to traffic, adding to Cairo's already congested streets.

Clashes between protesters and police and soldiers continued on streets leading to Tahrir and near the Interior Minister, which is in charge of police. The police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and the protesters responded with rocks and firebombs.

The army set up barricades on streets leading to Interior Ministry and soldiers stood behind them. Riot police were in front in lines, and youth approached and throw stones. They fired back with tear gas.

Three American students at the American University of Cairo, which sits on Tahrir Square, were arrested outside the university's campus Monday night, the AUC said.

University spokeswoman Rehab Saad told The Associated Press the three are on a study abroad program and the university is in touch with their families and the U.S. Embassy over the matter.

An Egyptian Interior Ministry official said the three were arrested while on the roof of one of the university's buildings throwing firebombs at security forces who were fighting protesters in Tahrir Square.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no authorization to speak to the media.

State television showed brief footage of the three students, males who appeared to be in their early 20s.

Source: The Associate Press

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Arab League votes to suspend Syria over bloodshed

CAIRO (AP) — The Arab League voted Saturday to suspend Syria in four days and warned the regime could face sanctions if it does not end its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters. The decision was a symbolic blow to a nation that prides itself on being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism.

General view of the Arab League emergency session on Syria at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov.12, 2011. Arab foreign ministers gather to discuss Syria's failure to end bloodshed caused by government crackdowns on civil protests. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Qatar's Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim said 18 countries agreed to the suspension, which was scheduled to take effect on Wednesday in a significant escalation of international pressure on President Bashar Assad's government. Syria, Lebanon and Yemen voted against it, and Iraq abstained.

The Arab League also will consider introducing political and economic sanctions against Syria.

"Syria is a dear country for all of us and it pains us to make this decision," bin Jassim said. "We hope there will be a brave move from Syria to stop the violence and begin a real dialogue toward real reform."

The decision comes as November shapes up to be the bloodiest month yet in Syria's 8-month-old uprising, with more than 250 Syrian civilians killed so far, most as part of a siege of the rebellious city of Homs, according to activist groups.

Bin Jassim suggested that Arab League members withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus but left that up to the individual countries.

The 22-member league will monitor the situation and revisit the decision in a meeting Wednesday in the Moroccan capital Rabat, bin Jassim said, a move that appeared to give Assad time to prevent the action from being implemented.

Syria's envoy to the Arab League, Youssef Ahmed, called the decision "illegal and contrary to the league's internal charter," according to the country's state-run news agency SANA.

Ahmed was quoted as saying that Syria remains committed to its pledges to the Arab League and said Damascus is calling on the "armed opposition abroad to lay down arms, surrender, stop the violence and accept a national dialogue."

The vote was a strong message from the Cairo-based organization and showed growing impatience as violence has continued unabated since Syria agreed on Nov. 2 to an Arab-brokered peace deal that called for the Syria to halt attacks against protesters, pull tanks and armored vehicles out of cities, release political prisoners and allow journalists and rights groups into the country.

Arab nations also are eager to avoid seeing another Arab leader toppled violently and dragged through the streets, as happened to Libya's Moammar Gadhafi last month. An Arab League decision had paved the way for the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone and NATO airstrikes that eventually brought down Gadhafi, but bin Jassim stressed international intervention was not on the agenda.

"No one is talking about a no-fly zone, people are trying to mix up the cases. None of us is talking about this kind of decision," he said.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby echoed that sentiment.

"This decision reflects a lack of foreign intervention," he said. "The Arab League has been calling on Syria to stop the violence for four months and it hasn't happened."

The international community is limited in what it can do to help solve the Syrian crisis. NATO has ruled out the kind of military intervention that helped topple Gadhafi. Sanctions from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union are chipping away at the regime, but the economy has not collapsed.

The unrest could balloon into a regional disaster. Damascus' web of allegiances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy. And although Syria sees Israel as the enemy, the countries have held up a fragile truce for years.

Assad already has warned the region will burn if there is any foreign intervention in his country. On Friday, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah backed up Assad and his allies in Iran, saying any war in either country would take down the Middle East.

Dozens of protesters outside the Arab League headquarters had rallied for the decision, carrying placards reading "Freedom for the Syrian people" and "Arab leaders are garbage" as they chanted for Assad's removal. They were joined by demonstrators from Yemen, protesting violent government crackdowns in their country

Even as the violence continues, the opposition has faced infighting and divisions that have prevented it from gaining the traction it needs to present a credible alternative to the regime.

The Arab League called on all factions to meet later this week to unify their message as a step toward dialogue with the Syrian government, and bin Jassim said the organization would discuss the possibility of recognizing the Syrian National Council as the official voice for the movement.

The U.N. estimates some 3,500 people have been killed in the Syrian crackdown since the uprising began eight months ago, inspired by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.

The bloodshed has spiked dramatically in recent weeks amid signs that more protesters are taking up arms to protect themselves, changing the face of what has been a largely peaceful movement. Many fear the change plays directly into the hands of the regime by giving the military a pretext to crack down with increasing force.

Although the crackdown has led to broad international isolation, Assad appears to have a firm grip on power.

Assad, and his father who ruled Syria before him, stacked key security and military posts with members of their minority Alawite sect over the past 40 years, ensuring loyalty by melding the fate of the army and the regime. As a result, the army leadership will likely protect the regime at all costs, for fear it will be persecuted if the country's Sunni majority gains the upper hand. Most of the army defectors so far appear to be lower-level Sunni conscripts.

Syria blames the bloodshed on "armed gangs" and extremists acting out a foreign agenda to destabilize the regime.

The government has largely sealed off the country from foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground.

Key sources of information are amateur videos posted online and details gathered by witnesses and activist groups who then contact the media, often at great personal risk.

Source: The Associate Press

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Egypt Army Sides With Mubarak, Massive Rally In Cairo

Egyptian military today came out in support of a beleaguered President and asked protesters to go home, assuring them of free and fair elections in September and the lifting of a much-hated emergency law, in a stand that caused widespread disappointment among the people who pledged to take their campaign to its 'final stage'.

As the powerful military unexpectedly threw its weight behind the President, tens of thousands of angry people converged again on the streets and vowed to take the protest to the "doorsteps of political institutions".in what was labelled as a 'Farewell Friday', huge rallies snaked into the city centre after the Friday prayers, and many parts of the country observed a shutdown with textile workers, journalists and transportation workers walking out of work and some joining the protesters.

As Mubarak dashed hopes of millions of his countrymen and global expectations by refusing to step down, the military Supreme Command Council met twice in less than 24 hours before announcing that it supported Mubarak's move to transfer some of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman.

Egyptian state-television interrupted its programme to read out the Council's "communique number 2" in which it vowed to lift the much-criticised emergency laws in the country, without specifying a date and said it would guarantee 'free and fair elections' in September, as outlined by Mubarak. But, in what appeared to be a warning to protesters, who for 18 days have been calling Mubarak to stand down after three decades in power, the military asked them to go home and get back to work.

The Council meeting presided over by Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi said it had agreed to "lift emergency law as soon as the current circumstances were over" and to hold "free and fair presidential elections based on constitutional amendments".

The communique said it would not take action against those calling for reforms but warned against any harm to the security of the nation.

The Army also asked the workers unions who have been on wildcat strikes for the last two days to go back to work. People, who were anticipating a more favourable

statement, were disappointed by the stand taken by the Army and vowed to carry their struggle to the last stage.

Labelling today's march, in which a call was given for millions to come onto the streets, as a 'Farewell Friday', hordes of people also started converging on Mubarak's Abedeen Palace and the state-television office, vowing to take the struggle to the "doorsteps of the political institutions", Al Jazeera reported.

As hundreds of people surrounded the radio and television building in Cairo, which they see as a mouthpiece of Mubarak's regime, some reports said several employees of the state television had quit jobs.

In a significant boost to the marchers, leading clerics of the Al Azhar mosque also joined their ranks after the Friday prayers.

Last night, a defiant Mubarak refused to step down immediately under any outside diktat and asserted that he will bow out only by September in a peaceful transition of power. Confounding reports that he was planning to hand over power to his Vice President Suleiman, a grim-looking 82-year-old Mubarak in a televised address said, "I will not accept to listen to matters dictated by countries abroad."

"I will remain adamant to shoulder my responsibility, protecting the constitution and safeguarding the interests of Egyptians (until the next elections)," he said, ignoring US President Barack Obama's suggestion to start the process of transition "now".

Expressing disappointment over Mubarak's announcement, Obama asked the Egyptian leader to explain in "clear and unambiguous language the step by step process that will lead to democracy in the country."

The people at Tahrir Square reacted angrily to Mubarak's refusal to quit and took off their shoes and waved them at a giant TV screen showing his speech, shouting "Leave, leave!"

'Down with Mubarak', they chanted as hopes about Mubarak's resignation had run high after the military leadership had announced hours earlier that it would step in

to ensure the country's security and see that the people's "legitimate" demands were met.

The build up for a celebrations turned into one of despair and widespread anger, and the protesters at Tahrir Square, shouted "donkey, leave!" Mass nationwide protests calling for Mubarak to step down erupted on January 25, leaving at least 300 people dead and scores more injured.

The protests, that have shaken the Arab world, have led to a major shake up in Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party, and an agreement on constitutional reforms between the regime and the opposition, but these developments have been shrugged off by the protesters as too little.

The Egyptians have said they will accept nothing less than Mubarak's departure. PTI

Source: India TV News

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Mubarak Flees Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has temporarily left Cairo, a day after transferring some power to Vice President Omar Suleiman in an effort to quell weeks of protests, CBS News has confirmed.

The embattled ruler left the capital for the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. He is not expected to stay there indefinitely but will return to Cairo. Reports that he has fled the country for a safe haven elsewhere in the Arab world - or for medical care in Europe - are inaccurate, sources told CBS News.

Complete Coverage: Anger in the Arab World

Mubarak reportedly left during or immediately after his speech to the nation last night, which was taped in advance. Anger has flared on the Egyptian streets following the speech.

Mubarak was widely expected to announce he was stepping down Thursday. Instead he said he would transfer some unspecified powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman and remain president until elections in September. As Mubarak's speech was broadcast, premature victory celebrations among protesters in central Tahrir Square turned to bafflement, dismay, and rage.

Mubarak's concessions seem like a half-measure - at best - to demonstrators who want nothing less than his complete removal from power. Even the installation of Suleiman is distasteful to many. Suleiman is seen in Egypt and abroad as an establishment figure and close ally not fundamentally different from Mubarak.

The Egyptian military on Friday endorsed Mubarak's plan to stay in office Friday while protesters fanned out to the presidential palace in Cairo and other key symbols of the authoritarian regime in a new push to force the leader to step down immediately.

The statement by the Armed Forces Supreme Council -- its second in two days -- was a blow to many protesters who had called on the military to take action to push out Mubarak after his latest refusal to step down.

But soldiers also took no action to stop demonstrators from massing outside the palace and the headquarters of state television, indicating they were trying to avoid another outbreak of violence.

Anti-government protesters said they were more determined than ever as the uprising entered its 18th day.

CBS News correspondent Terry McCarthy reported that "some of the biggest crowds Cairo has ever seen" were gathering in Tahrir Square, the focal point for the nearly three-week protest movement.

In nearby Heliopolis, CBS News' Amjad Tadros saw hundreds of protesters around the presidential palace. The palace was protected by four tanks and rolls of barbed wire, but soldiers were doing nothing to stop demonstrators from joining the rally and chanting anti-Mubarak slogans.

There were, however, several reports from Arab networks that clashes had broken out between anti-government protesters and Mubarak supporters.

The military also promised that the hated emergency laws, in force since Egypt's authoritarian ruler came to office in 1981, would be lifted and gave a somewhat more specific timeframe than Mubarak had offered in his Thursday night speech.

But CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports, however, that the powerful military's unwillingness to act decisively against Mubarak on Thursday spoke for itself.

Source: CBS News

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Egypt's Mubarak faces crisis as protesters defy curfew

(Reuters) - President Hosni Mubarak, clinging on despite unprecedented demands for an end to his 30-year rule, met on Sunday with the military which is seen as holding the key to Egypt's future while in Cairo, protesters defied a curfew.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States wanted an "orderly transition" through free and fair elections in its key ally and the Arab world's most populous nation.

An earthquake of unrest is shaking Mubarak's authoritarian grip on Egypt and the high command's support is vital as other pillars of his ruling apparatus crumble, political analysts said as protests ran on through a sixth day.

As thousands gathered in the streets, unmolested by patient troops in their American-built tanks, the fragmented opposition gave a sign of coming together. Nobel peace laureate and retired international diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei said he had been given a mandate to reach out to the army and build a new government:

"Mubarak has to leave today," he told CNN before joining thousands of demonstrators in central Cairo's Tahrir Square.

"The people want the regime to fall!" the crowd chanted.

Clinton told Fox News: "We want to see an orderly transition so that no one fills a void ... We also don't want to see some takeover that would lead not to democracy but to oppression and the end of the aspirations of the Egyptian people." As many as 10,000 people protested in Tahrir Square, a rallying point in the center of Cairo, to express anger at poverty, repression, unemployment and corruption.

As the curfew started and was ignored, warplanes and helicopters flew over the square. By late afternoon more army trucks appeared in a show of military force but no one moved.

"Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans," shouted protesters, referring to the appointment on Saturday of intelligence chief Suleiman as vice president, the first time Mubarak has appointed a deputy in 30 years of office.

It was the position Mubarak, 82, held before he become president and many saw the appointment as ending his son Gamal's long-predicted ambitions to take over and as an attempt to reshape the administration to placate reformists.

Mubarak held talks with Suleiman, Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff Sami al-Anan and others.

Clearly those in Tahrir Square did not wish to see Mubarak's ruling structure replaced by a military line-up featuring his closest associates. "Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits," they said. There was also a big protest in Alexandria.

A senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist group that has long seemed the strongest single force against Mubarak, said it backed ElBaradei as negotiator.

The Muslim Brotherhood has stayed in the background although several of its senior officials have been rounded up. The government has accused it of planning to exploit the protests.

SHOCKWAVES AROUND MIDDLE EAST

The turmoil, in which more than 100 people have died, has sent shock waves through the Middle East where other autocratic rulers may face similar challenges, and unsettled financial markets around the globe as well as Egypt's allies in the West.

In Tunisia, the detonator of the regional movement, an exiled Islamist leader was welcomed home by thousands on Sunday. In Sudan, Egypt's southern neighbor, police beat and arrested students taking part in anti-government protests in Khartoum.

For Egyptians, the final straw seems to have been parliamentary elections in November last year, which observers said authorities rigged to exclude the opposition and secure Mubarak's ruling party a rubber-stamp parliament.

The military response to the crisis has been ambivalent. Troops now guard key buildings after police lost control of the streets, but have neglected to enforce a curfew, often fraternizing with protesters rather than confronting them.

It remains to be seen if the armed forces will keep Mubarak in power, or decide he is a liability to Egypt's national interests, and their own. It was also unclear if Mubarak had decided to talk with the generals or if he was summoned by them.

It was Tunisian generals who persuaded former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee last month after weeks of protests.

In Suez, on the canal, one senior local officer, Brigadier Atef Said said his troops would give protesters a free voice:

"We will allow protests in the coming days," he told Reuters. "Everyone has the right to voice their opinion. We're listening and trying to help and satisfy all parties. We're not here to stop anyone. These are our people."

The crisis deepened on Sunday with Egyptians facing lawlessness on the streets with security forces and citizens trying to stop rampaging looters.

Through the night, Cairo residents armed with clubs, chains and knives formed vigilante groups to guard neighborhoods from marauders after the unpopular police force withdrew following the deadly clashes with protesters.

As a result the army has deployed in bigger numbers across Egypt, easing some of the panic over law and order. In central Cairo, army check points were set up at some intersections.

"The armed forces urged all citizens to abide by the curfew precisely and said it would deal with violators strictly and firmly," state television issued a statement.

Residents expressed hope the army, revered in Egypt and less associated with daily repression than the police and security agencies, would restore order.

Army tanks and tracked vehicles stood at the capital's street corners, guarding banks as well as government offices including Interior Ministry headquarters. State security fought with protesters trying to attack the building on Saturday night.

TANKS SPRAYED WITH SLOGANS

In surreal scenes, soldiers from Mubarak's army stood by tanks covered in anti-Mubarak graffiti: "Down with Mubarak. Down with the despot. Down with the traitor. Pharaoh out of Egypt."

Asked how they could let protesters scrawl anti-Mubarak slogans on their vehicles, one soldier said: "These are written by the people, it's the views of the people."

Egypt's sprawling armed forces -- the world's 10th biggest and more than 468,000-strong -- have been at the heart of power since army officers staged the 1952 overthrow of the king. It benefits from about $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid.

Egypt's military appears to be showing restraint and there is no talk at this time about halting U.S. aid to Egypt, Clinton told ABC on Sunday.

Egyptian state television largely ignored protests until Friday, the biggest day when a curfew was announced. Since then it has given more coverage but has focused on disorder and shown pictures of small protests, not the mass gatherings.

The government has interfered with Internet access and mobile phone signals to try and disrupt demonstrators' plans.

TUMULT HITS TOURISTS

The tumult was affecting Egypt's tourist industry and the United States andTurkey said they were offering evacuation flights for citizens anxious to leave. Other governments advised their citizens to leave Egypt or to avoid traveling there.

The United States and European powers were busy reworking their Middle East policies, which have supported Mubarak, turning a blind eye to police brutality and corruption in return for a bulwark against first communism and now militant Islam.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was closely watching events in Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state in 1979. It has served a key role in Israel-Palestinian peace talks.

"This is the Arab world's Berlin moment," said Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics, comparing the events to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. "The authoritarian wall has fallen, and that's regardless of whether Mubarak survives."

Source Reuters

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Fighter jets swoop over Cairo in show of force

Egypt judges and Azhar scholars join mass protests in downtown Cairo on Saturday calling for the resignation of President Housni Mubarak as fighter jets and army helicopters swooped over Cairo in show of force.

Egyptian opposition forces have agreed to support opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei to negotiate with the government, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday, Al Arabiya TV reported.

ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, came back to Egypt on Thursday night, just in time for the "Day of Anger" protests which have left President Hosni Mubarak clinging to power with the army in the streets

Thirty-four Muslim Brothers, including leaders of the banned Islamist group, left a prison near Cairo unhindered Sunday after guards abandoned their posts amid anti-regime protests, one of their lawyers told AFP.

The Islamists who escaped from Wadi Natrun prison north of Cairo had been arrested on Thursday either at their homes or during protests against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak that have been raging for five days, leaving over 100 dead.

A security source told AFP that several thousand inmates had during the night overwhelmed guards at Wadi Natrun prison -- which holds many Islamist political prisoners -- and spilled out into nearby towns and villages.

"Their lives would have been in danger if they'd stayed," lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud told AFP.

Egyptians faced lawlessness on their streets on Sunday with security forces and ordinary people trying to stop looters after days of popular protest demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian 30-year rule.

Protecting the interior ministry

An Egyptian protester gestures while holding spent bullet casings on his fingers

With fears of insecurity rising and a death toll of more than 100, thousands of convicts broke out prisons across Egypt overnight after they overwhelmed guards or after prison personnel fled their posts.

A security official said dozens of bodies were seen lying on a road near Cairo's Abu Zaabal prison on Sunday after rioting there killed at least eight prisoners.

With rampant pillaging in more than five days of deadly protests, many Egyptians believe that the police have deliberately released prisoners in order to spread chaos and emphasise the need for the security forces.

Fighter jets swooped low over Cairo Sunday in what appeared to be an attempt by the military to show its control of a city beset by looting, armed robbery and anti-government protests.

Minutes before the start of a 4 p.m. curfew, at least two jets appeared and made multiple passes over downtown, including a central square where thousands of protesters were calling for the departure of President Hosni Mubarak.

Police could be seen returning to some streets nearly two days after virtually disappearing, creating a security vacuum only partially filled by the presence of army troops backed by tanks at key sites around this city of 18 million people.

Through the night, Cairo residents armed with clubs, chains and knives formed vigilante groups to guard neighborhoods from marauders after the unpopular police force withdrew following clashes with protesters that left more than 100 dead.

Army tanks and tracked vehicles stood at the capital's street corners, guarding banks as well as government offices and the Interior Ministry headquarters. State security fought with protesters trying to attack the building on Saturday night.

  Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans  

Protesters

"We secured the Interior Ministry this morning and evacuated state security personnel. The ministry is empty," an army officer who did not want to be named told Reuters. "We're here for as long as it takes."

By morning, the capital's streets were mostly deserted, with citizens putting their trust in the military, hoping they would restore order but not open fire to keep Mubarak, 82, in power.

Up to 3,000 people gathered on Sunday in Tahrir Square, which has become a rallying point to express anger at poverty, repression and corruption in the Arab world's most populous nation. "The people want the fall of Mubarak," they chanted.

"Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans," shouted protesters, referring to the appointment of intelligence chief Suleiman as a vice president, the first time Mubarak has appointed a deputy in 30 years of office.

It was the position Mubarak held before he become president and could set the scene for a transition of power. Many saw it as ending his son Gamal's long-predicted ambitions to take over.

"Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits," demonstrators said.

Sunday is normally a working day in Egypt but banks and financial markets were ordered shut by the central bank. The bourse said it would stay closed on Monday.

The unprecedented turmoil has sent shock waves through the Middle East, where other autocratic rulers may face similar challenges, and unsettled financial markets around the globe.

The tumult was effecting Egypt's tourist industry and the U.S. embassy said on Sunday it was offering evacuation flights to Europe for U.S. citizens who are anxious to leave the country.

Israeli says to preserve ties

Egyptian protesters march at Tahrir Square in Cairo

Israel's prime minister said Sunday that his country's 3-decade-old peace agreement with Egypt must be preserved, in his first public comment on the political unrest roiling Israel's neighbor and regional ally.

Israeli officials have been silent until now on the protests in Egypt, which have destabilized the autocratic regime of President Hosni Mubarak, Israel's most important ally in the Arab world.

Israel's government is "anxiously following developments in Egypt and the region," Benjamin Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

"Israel and Egypt have been at peace for more than three decades and our objective is to ensure that these ties be preserved," he said. "At this time, we must display responsibility, restraint and utmost prudence."

Israel signed a historic peace agreement with Anwar Sadat, Mubarak's predecessor, in 1979.

Mubarak, who took power after Sadat was assassinated in 1981, has honored the peace agreement, making Egypt an important source of stability. Ties have been cool but stable, allowing Israel to significantly scale back its armed forces.

Israelis have been closely watching the unrest, with some commentators expressing concern that a new regime could abrogate the peace agreement and resume the conflict with Israel. Before the peace agreement, the countries fought four wars in three decades

The United States and European powers were busy reworking their Middle East policies, which have supported Mubarak, turning a blind eye to police brutality and corruption in return for a bulwark against first communism and now militant Isam.

Change means nothing

  People don't want Mubarak any more. People want change   

Salah Khalife, an employee at a sugar company.

On Saturday, Mubarak bowed to protesters and appointed a vice-president for the first time, a move seen as lining up Suleiman as an eventual successor, at least for a transition period.

Egyptians say the changes mean nothing unless Mubarak goes.

"All these changes he made are sedatives," said Salah Khalife, an employee at a sugar company.

"People don't want Mubarak any more. People want change ... He doesn't want to leave. He is a thug."

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Saturday: "The Egyptian government can't reshuffle the deck and then stand pat."

As in Tunisia, Egypt's exploding young population, most of them underemployed and frustrated by oppression at the hands of a corrupt and rapacious elite, were demanding a full clear-out of the old guard.

"This is the Arab world's Berlin moment," said Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics, comparing the events to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. "The authoritarian wall has fallen, and that's regardless of whether Mubarak survives."

Saturday saw the worst bloodshed so far of the five-day uprising. Police shot dead 17 people in Bani Suef, south of Cairo. Various estimates put the overall death toll in the five days of unrest at more than 100.

Source: alarabiya

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