Protesters in Cairo call for sixth day of protests

Sun, 30 Jan 2011

Cairo - A strong military presence remained on the streets of some parts of Cairo Sunday morning, as Egyptian protesters called for a sixth day of demonstrations across the country.

Reports on broadcaster al-Jazeera, citing organizers, said larger protests were expected to begin again after noon prayers, to demand the ouster of key political figures, including the minister of interior and President Hosny Mubarak.

Small numbers of activists were gathered in central areas in the morning hours, but fewer than the previous day.

An effort was being made to tie Sunday's demonstrations to the funerals of people killed over the weekend in the unrest. Dozens have died so far, medics reported.

Parts of major cities were, however, without security forces, after a long night which saw looting and reports of other violent acts, including attacks on clinics and prisons.

Citizens in various areas, from Suez to Cairo, gathered into neighborhood defense groups overnight, in an effort to protect their families and property from looters.

Some of these groups even arrested vandals, with police again failing to make an appearance.

German Press Agency reporters on the streets were told by residents that some of those found looting and destroying shops were from the police. It was not known, however, whether these were acting on their own, or whether they were possibly following orders.

Thousands of prisoners were said to have escaped detention facilities in different areas of the country and at least one high ranking prison official was dead.

The death toll in the violence since Friday had risen to about 100, though some of the incidents were unconfirmed while new reports of violence were pouring in from remote areas of the vast and largely poor country of 80 million people.

On Saturday, Mubarak fired his cabinet and appointed two close confidants to key roles.

Omar Suleiman, his spy chief, is now vice president - the first time that role has been filled in nearly 30 years - and Ahmed Shafiq, tied to the president from their days in the army, is prime minister.

It remained to be seen if the shifts at the top combined with the impact of looting and street violence would affect the demonstrations or if angry crowds would continue to demand radical economic and political reforms.

Meanwhile, Western governments and human rights groups are urging Egypt not to use live fire and harsh tactics against demonstrators, amid concern in Washington and elsewhere for the stability of a key Middle East ally.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/364957,protesters-cairo-call-protests.html.