Egypt protests: change is coming, says ElBaradei
Thousands rally in Cairo to defy curfew as Hillary Clinton calls on Hosni Mubarak to allow 'orderly transition'
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“Downing Street says that David Cameron supports President Obama's call for an "orderly transition" in Egypt. The statement from No 10 said: "The…”
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Downing Street says that David Cameron supports President Obama's call for an "orderly transition" in Egypt. The statement from No 10 said:
"The prime minister made clear that restrictions on the media and internet were unacceptable and should be lifted immediately.
"The prime minister and President Obama were united in their view that Egypt now needed a comprehensive process of political reform, with an orderly, Egyptian-led transition leading to a government that responded to the grievances of the Egyptian people and to their aspirations for a democratic future."
Shots sound like they are coming from the east of the city, Peter Beaumont says. Tracer rounds from heavy calibre weapons suggest they are military. Bursts from the direction of the airport and Heliopolis – where the presidential palace is located. Tanks seen moving fast eastwards.
Peter Beaumont in Cairo reports hearing bursts of gunfire from several directions, sounds coming from somewhere far beyond Tahrir Square.
First all we thought it might be vigilantes firing. It's not clear whether it's the army trying to clear people off the steets. May be warning shots. Coming from different directions.
State TV broadcasts pictures of recaptured prisoners as well as Molotov cocktails, machetes and other weapons said to have been taken from demonstrators.
Human Rights Watch's Egypt researcher, Heba Fatma Morayef, says the mood in Tahrir Square is orderly and cooperative:
Several thousand people remain in Tahrir Square, many say they're planning to spend the night and stay till Mubarak resigns. There was a huge cheer when we heard Mohamed ElBaradei was coming but unfortunately most of us couldn't hear what he said - no loudspeakers, apparently.
The square has emptied out since the afternoon but it's still a great atmosphere, a sense of solidarity, and very well-behaved - people are sitting around bonfires, or walking around picking up rubbish. Crowds who find occasional looters drag them over to the soldiers and hand them over. And no sexual harassment – which is not the norm downtown, especially when there are big groups gathering! We're happy to be eating koshary - thank goodness vendors are still selling street food because we're starving.
A White House statement details President Obama's round of phone calls to foreign leaders in Turkey, Israel Saudi Arabia and the UK:
Today, he spoke to prime minister Cameron of the United Kingdom. During his calls, the president reiterated his focus on opposing violence and calling for restraint; supporting universal rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, association, and speech; and supporting an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the
aspirations of the Egyptian people.
The president asked each of the leaders that he spoke to for their assessment of the situation, and agreed to stay in close contact going forward.
There is feverish speculation regarding the whereabouts of Gamal Mubarak, the president's son who had been groomed for succession. He has not been seen in Egypt for several days. Arab and Iranian websites are claiming that he has fled the country.
Update from an official at the celebrated Egyptian Museum in the centre of Cairo reports that some damage has been done by intruders who broke into the Tutankhamun galleries. He says:
Thank God they opened only one case! The criminals found a statue of the king on a panther, broke it, and threw it on the floor. I am very thankful that all of the antiquities that were damaged in the museum can be restored, and the tourist police caught all of the criminals that broke into it. On Saturday, the army secured the museum again and guarded it from all sides.
What is really beautiful is that not all Egyptians were involved in the looting of the museum. A very small number of people tried to break, steal and rob. The Egyptian people are calling for freedom, not destruction. When I left the museum on Saturday, I was met outside by many Egyptians, who asked if the museum was safe and what they could do to help. The people were happy to see an Egyptian official leave his home and come to Tahrir Square without fear; they loved that I came to the museum.
Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, has filed this on the president's attempted fightback:
Hosni Mubarak sought to boost his battered image as Egypt's leader, flaunting the support of the armed forces whose loyalty he will need to retain if he is to survive the country's unprecedented political upheaval.
The embattled president was shown on state TV visiting an army operations centre flanked by his new deputy, Omar Suleiman and defence minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi – listening to briefings as if directing a battle.
Official security sources have announced that the curfew will be extended tomorrow, starting from 3pm local time until 8am on Tuesday. It has been ignored nationwide so far.
Army tank joins in protesters' procession through Alexandria, Al-Jazeera TV reports. The commander of the tank insisted that the army had "no intention of stopping this march", the station says.
Owen Bowcott here taking over from Matthew Weaver. According to the Press Association, foreign secretary William Hague is due to speak to Egypt's foreign minister Aboul Gheit later tonight.
European Union officials have said that the unrest in Egypt will top the agenda at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday in Brussels, AP reports.
The Dutch foreign ministry urged its nationals to "seriously consider leaving," while Switzerland advised its citizens to leave until further notice. Turkey's Dogan news agency reported that the Turkish government is evacuating about 750 nationals.Belgian foreign ministry spokesman Patrick Deboeck said ambassadors in Cairo assessed "the state of play" at a meeting Sunday and EU nations are not planning evacuations. He added that so far there have been no incidents involving EU citizens in Egypt.
Simon Tisdall, the Guardian's foreign affairs columnist, has this report on the mass prison breakouts, which security officials said took place at four jails overnight.
Hundreds of members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's leading Islamist political party, were among thousands of prisoners who escaped during overnight mass breakouts from four jails, security officials said today.
Armed gangs took advantage of the chaos in Cairo and other cities to free the prisoners, starting fires and engaging prison guards in gun battles, officials said. Several inmates were reportedly killed during the fighting and some were recaptured.
Time for a summary:
• Thousands of protesters have returned to the streets of Cairo on the sixth day of protests. There is a heavy military presence in Tahrir square. Protesters are demanding the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak, and his newly appointed deputy Omar Suleiman.• Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has addressed protesters in Tahrir square. "We cannot go back on what we have begun," ElBaradei tells the crowds. "We have one main demand: the end of the regime and the beginning of a new stage, a new Egypt."
• Al-Jazeera has been taken off air in Egypt, in move that has been widely condemned as an attack on free speech. The network was also banned from showing live footage in Cairo.
• Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has called on President Mubarak to hold free and fair elections – but said Washington was not considering a cutoff of aid to Cairo for now.
• The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a "national salvation government". Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, suggests it remains unlikely that Mubarak government will agree to negotiate with to ElBaradei, but the publication of the demand adds a significant new element to the political angle.
• There are reports of a mass prison breakout. Leading members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood were among those freed, the organisation said. Residents have taken control of law and order in many neighbourhoods.
This is interesting - the police will return to the streets tomorrow, but not to tackle the protests, security sources told Reuters.
One of the sources said police would return to traffic, criminal and other work but would not be sent in to confront protesters, with whom they clashed often violently in the first days of the protests. The army were ordered in on Friday.
Egyptian TV viewers can't see the footage of ElBaradei because al-Jazeera continues to be blocked. State TV has been showing footage of security guards outside a government building, the network said.
Human Rights Watch urged the regime to allow the network to be allowed to broadcast."Shutting down al-Jazeera is a sign of just how desperate the government has become to cut Egyptians off from news, information, and communication," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch in an email. "But like all its other efforts to rein in access to information, this too seems destined to fail, as the world continues to hear and watch Egyptians demanding their freedom," she said.
Al-Jazeera is showing footage of ElBaradei's arrival in Tahrir Square.
"Change is coming in the next few days," ElBaradei told the crowd, according to Reuters.
"You have taken back your rights and what we have begun cannot go back... We have one main demand - the end of the regime and the beginning of a new stage, a new Egypt.""I bow to the people of Egypt in respect. I ask of you patience."
"What we have begun cannot go back", ElBaradei tells the crowds according to Reuters.
ElBaradei is preparing to address the crowd in Tahrir Square and has been handed a megaphone, Jack Shenker reports.
"ElBaradei stared out at the crowd with a half smile on his face. There were waves of excitement and optimism as he arrived. But but a notable number chanted anti-ElBaradei slogans, asking 'how can you steal our revolution now?'", Jack told us in another phone update. "It's certainly a key moment. Many people in the crowd feel this is the final hours of the Mubarak regime," Jack said before the line cut out.
"It's still unclear at the moment what his [ElBaradei's] reception will be. He's popular among some people, but there are those who felt he has joined the protests too late and is only arriving now once the danger is apparently over. Either way this is a special moment," Jack added.
Mohamed EBaradei arrives in Tahrir Square. Jack Shenker describes the moment in this audio report. People feel the regime is about to fall, he says.
The infuential Egyptian blogger Issandr El Amrani is suspicious about the absence of police.
He managed to get round Internet restrictions to post this on his Arabist blog.Something very fishy is taking place — the Egyptian people are being manipulated and terrified by the withdrawal of the police yesterday, reports (some of them perhaps untrue) of widespread looting, and yesterday's (during the day) relatively low military presence in the city.
I can only speak about central Cairo, I suspect the situation is much worse in the Suez Canal cities, Alexandria and the Delta, and perhaps most of all the Sinai. I spoke to my former bawaab (doorman) who is near Aswan, where is he the police is still out and there is no military, although the local NDP office was ransacked and set on fire. So the situation is different from place to place, and there is very little national-level visibility.
There is a discourse of army vs. police that is emerging. I don't fully buy it — the police was pulled out to create this situation of chaos, and it's very probable that agent provocateurs are operating among the looters, although of course there is also real criminal gangs and neighborhoods toughs operating too.
For me, Omar Suleiman being appointed VP means that he's in charge. This means the old regime is trying to salvage the situation. Chafiq's appointment as PM also confirms a military in charge. These people are part of the way Egypt was run for decades and are responsible for the current situation. I suspect more and more people, especially among the activists, are realizing this.
I hope to have more steady internet access later. For now, the questions are:
• Why was the NPD building fire not put out even though it risks spreading to the Egyptian Museum?
• Why is Egyptian state TV terrifying people with constant pictures of criminal gangs?
• Why was there such a small military deployment during the day yesterday?
• Why were all police forces pulled out, and who made that decision?
• What is the chain of command today in the military? Is Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Enan still in position?
• If the reports about prison breakouts are true, how come these facilities have not been secured?
• Why are we getting reports of intelligence offices burning documents, CDs and tapes?
The situation is obviously very confusing at the moment. All I can say is that I have a hard time believing that Mubarak is still in charge, and that the hard core of the regime is using extreme means to salvage its position.
ElBaradei is on his way to Tahrir Square, Reuters confirms.
Egyptian activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei plans join protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the hub of the protest calling for President Hosni Mubarak to quit, an opposition figure said.
"Dr Mohamed ElBaradei will be joining protesters in Tahrir," Mustafa el-Naggar told Reuters, adding he would come to the square later today, his first visit to the hub of the protest since returning to Egypt on Thursday.
Naggar is the coordinator for the National Coalition for Change, a coalition of opposition movements seeking political reform and headed by ElBaradei.
"Watch what happens" writes journalist Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi on Twitter, "If he's welcomed it is an important message."
"Every man seems to be carrying a stick." Al Jazeera reports on the efforts of residents to control order in a Cairo neighbourhood after darkness fell tonight. There are makeshift road blocks at almost every corner, the reporter says.
ElBaradei appears to be making his pitch to be head of any new unity goverment, my colleague Brian Whitaker tweets.
Photograph: Rudi Blaha/Getty The New York Times's Lede blog has more ElBaradei comments from that CNN interview: "The next step, as everybody now agrees upon, is a transitional period a government of national salvation, of national unity and that prepares the ground for a new constitution, a free and fair election, these are the three basic demands.""Egypt needs to catch up with the rest of the world, we need to be free, democratic and a society where people have the right to live in freedom and dignity.... That's what you get after 70 years, Fareed, of utter brutal dictatorship, supported by everybody in the name of pseudo-stability."
ElBaradei has changed his mind again about joining today's protests. His wife has been in touch with Jack for a third time. She says he is planning to go after all. She apologises for confusing Guardian readers, Jack reports.
Peter Beaumont hears from first aid workers at a makeshift treatment centre at a mosque in Cairo. In same audio report Jack Shenker describes chaotic scenes from last night as men scream after being gassed.
Also there's a photo gallery here by Peter of some of the scenes from last night.
False rumours that Mubarak had fallen were greeted by hugs and cheering by protesters in Tahrir Square, Peter Beaumont reports from Tahrir square. In an audio interview he talks about possible preparations by the army to crackdown against the protesters. Water cannons have been moved in and tanks have been split into two columns, he says.
"The mood amongst the people, who were very positive towards the army, does seem to be changing. People are very very suspicious of the army now. They want to know why a squadron of Egypt's best tanks is sitting in the entrance to square," he said. ElBaradei's wife just called Jack to say he won't be going out to join the protesters after all.
Mohammed ElBaradei is planning to join the protest this afternoon, his wife just told the Guardian's Jack Shenker.
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.
Those lowing flying jets were captured on video by an al-Jazeera producer. The film also appears to show, stick-carrying residents, patrolling the streets below.
The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a "national salvation government". This is very significant according to our Middle East editor Ian Black.
Osama Ghazlai Harb of the National Democrsatic Front told BBC Arabic that this would be a transitional administration that would oversee the cancellation of the emergency laws and the release of all political prisoners.
The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which has kept a low profile so far, said it was backing the demand along with other four groups.
It seems unlikely at this stage that the Mubarak government will agree to negotiate with to ElBaradei, but the publication of the demand adds a significant new element to Egypt's rapidly unfolding political crisis.
More balancing act comments from Hillary Clinton to US TV.
"We want to see an orderly transition so that no one fills a void, that there not be a void, that there be a well thought out plan that will bring about a democratic participatory government.
"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."
Heba Fatma Morayef, from Human Rights Watch, has sent another email update from Cairo.
At least 20,000 protesters in Tahrir square now, it's absolutlely packed. Two fighter jets have been flying overhead for the last 10 minutes - people are cheering the flyovers.
They're chanting "we will not leave until he leaves" and "long live the crescent together with the cross." There are judges, independent journalists, the Muslim Brotherhood, the National Association for Change, April 6th movement - all standing together and leading the chants.
More fence sitting from the US? Hillary Clinton said the Egyptian military appears to be showing restraint against protesters, according to Reuters citing an interview with ABC's This Week.
"America's message has been consistent. We want to see free and fair elections and we expect that will be one of the outcomes of what is going on right now," she said.
Asked whether Mubarak's government is stable, Clinton said, "I'm not going to get into either or choices."
The Guardian's Simon Tisdall describes the "excruciating" balancing act that the US has been trying to perform on Egypt.
Caught off guard by the escalating unrest in Egypt, the Obama administration is desperate to avoid any public appearance of taking sides. But Washington's close, longstanding political and military ties to President Hosni Mubarak's regime, plus annual financial support worth about $1.5bn, undermine its claims to neutrality.
While the US favours Egyptian political reform in theory, in practice it props up an authoritarian system for pragmatic reasons of national self-interest. It behaved in much the same way towards Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1980s, when Iraq was at war with Iran. A similar tacit bargain governs relations with Saudi Arabia. That's why, for many Egyptians, the US is part of the problem.
ElBaradei has called on Mubarak to "leave today and save the country", according to CNN.
Fighters jets are flying very low over central Cairo, Peter Beaumont reports.
An Al Jazeera confirms this, 2 #egyptian airforce fighter planes currently flying above crowds at #Tahrir Square, defiant chants and roars from protesters
The Muslim Brotherhood says it would support the Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei negotiating with the regime, Reuters reports, citing Arab TV channels.
Heba Fatma Morayef, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, reports on the mood in the square, before the new tank unit moved in.
I'm in Tahrir Square and there must be 7,000 people already, a festive mood inside the square, families, a few with children and many women, veiled and unveiled. That shows people feel safe. People are chanting enthusiastically, "Get out!", aimed at Mubarak.
Someone strung up a large banner between two lamp-posts with their demands: that Mubarak should resign, Mubarak should be held to account for the destruction of Egypt, the Interior Minister should be prosecuted and a temporary government should be created to restore the nation and dissolve parliament.
People are holding up signs all over the square, some hand-made, some printed, all saying more or less the same thing - Down with Mubarak, the people and the Army against the enemy, stop police vandalism or police are terrorizing people. These last refer to widespread reports that some looting was carried out by police. They haven't been seen on the streets of Cairo since 6pm on Friday.
It's the first day of the working week but most shops and offices are closed. Only a few food stores are open.
"At first we trusted the army, but we don't trust them any more," protester Mohamed Ali tells Peter Beaumont as a new tank unit moves into Tahrir Square.
"People clearly sense that something different is going on. People feel very uncomfortable about all these tanks trying to enter the square," Peter Beaumont reports from Tahrir Square.
Modern US tanks are being deployed on the streets of Cairo for the first time, my colleague Peter Beaumont just told in a phone call from the streets. He counted seven as we talked. It appears to confirm rumours that some of the elite combat troops are being moved to Cairo from their units in the desert, he said.
Time for a summary:
• Thousands of protesters have returned to the streets of Cairo on the sixth day of protests. There is a heavy military presence in Tahrir square. Protesters are demanding the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak, and his newly appointed deputy Omar Suleiman. • Al-Jazeera has been taken off air in Egypt, in move that has been widely condemned as an attack on free speech. The network was also banned from showing live footage in Cairo.
• The Foreign Office has advised Britons to leave Cairo, Suez and Alexandria. Many other countries, including the US, are planning evacuation flights.
• There are reports of a mass prison break out. Leading members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood were among those freed, the organisation said. Residents have taken control of law and order in many neighbourhoods.
• Israel has expressed concern about stability and security in Egypt. Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, said there was a danger of extremism taking hold.
Several countries, including the US and India, have announced plans to organise evacuation flights from Egypt. Harriet Sherwood has more:
Israel's national airline El Al made a rare Shabbat flight to Cairo yesterday to pick up the families of diplomats and stranded Israeli tourists at the request of the foreign ministry. The airline does not normally fly on the Jewish sabbath.
Today's Air Sinai flight from Tel Aviv to Cairo was cancelled. A scheduled El Al flight this evening is likely to depart according to a local travel agent, because it is turning round immediately to fly back to Tel Aviv with every seat on the return leg taken.
Turkey is also sending three planes to Cairo today to airlift its citizens, according to reports, and the US has said it will begin an evacuation programme tomorrow.
AP has this raw footage peaceful protests and chanting in central Cairo this morning.
People are only being let into Tahrir Square in central Cairo after being searched for weapons, according to a Sky News. It showed footage of people lining up to be searched in single file behind a military checkpoint on the edge of the square.
An al-Jazeera reporter describes the mood in the square: Thousands of protesters at #Tahrir Square still empowered, confident & remain defiant in demands and chants #egypt #jan25
Al-Jazeera has been banned from showing live footage of Cairo, according to staff member Evan Hill. In this Audioboo clip he describes the moment that security forces raided the network's Cairo officers. No one was detained he said.
The Middle East analyst Juan Cole analyses why the Egyptian state has lost its legitimacy.
The present regime is widely seen in Egypt as a state for the others– for the US, Israel, France and the UK– and as a state for the few– the Neoliberal nouveau riche. Islam plays no role in this analysis because it is not an independent variable. Muslim movements have served to protest the withdrawal of the state from its responsibilities, and to provide services. But they are a symptom, not the cause. All this is why Mubarak's appointment of military men as vice president and prime minister cannot in and of itself tamp down the crisis. They, as men of the System, do not have more legitimacy than does the president– and perhaps less.
Hospitals are urging people to donate blood, according to the latest email update from Human Rights Watch's emergencies director, Peter Bouckaert, in Alexandria. He has also been told of that prison break out.
Hospitals in Alexandria and Cairo are requesting that people come in and donate blood.
The Cairo-Alexandria desert road is blocked because of a prison outbreak at Wadi el-Natroun- several thousand prisoners released. The army is deployed. Residents of local villages say the prison had 8,000 inmates.
The old Cairo-Alexandria "agricultural road" is open and traffic is running smoothly. People in Menoufeyya say criminals stopping cars at night demanding money. But day travel is safe.
Mosques are being transformed into sickrooms for protesters with bullet wounds, according to this report from Jack Shenker and Peter Beaumont.
They write:
This place of worship is little more than a partially-roofed narrow passage between two tall buildings; now it has been transformed into a makeshift hospital, with blood soaking through the prayer mats. The muezzin's microphone – normally used to send out the call to prayer – pressed into use by a thick-set, bearded imam who is shouting out instructions to the medics. Occasionally, he prays.
You can hear one of medic describe mortal bullet wounds in this audio interview with Jack last night.
34 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including seven leaders, have escaped from prison, according to Reuters.
Relatives stormed the prison in Wadi el-Natroun, 120 km (80 miles) northwest of Cairo, and set free several thousand of the inmates, Brotherhood office manager Mohamed Osama told Reuters. No one was hurt, he added.
At the moment, the Muslim Brotherhood is playing catch-up with a young, leaderless protest movement. But chaos always opens opportunities and years of oppression by the government has angered and frustrated ordinary people. The brotherhood has enormous support among the poor, encouraged by the network of charities it runs. Observers have been debating the sincerity of the brotherhood's apparent moves towards real political reform, and point to its inability to directly challenge Mubarak's government.
Al Jazeera has just been taken off the air in Egypt, according to its reporter Ayman Mohyeldin.
Another al-Jazeera staffer Abdurahman Warsame tweets: BREAKING: Al Jazeera Arabic signal is down. The screen is frozen. Has the satellite (Nilesat) been blocked? Jammed? #Aljazeera #press #Cairo
Thousands of prisoners have escaped from jail in the Wadi Naturn prison, north of Cairo, according to AP.
Australia's Herald Sun has this AP report: Inmates overwhelmed guards during the night, breaking out of the facility which holds many Islamist political prisoners, and spilling out into nearby towns and villages, as nationwide riots demanding the end of the regime gave way to looting.It cited a "security official" for the information.
6,000 prisoners escape from #Abu Zaabel prison #egypt #jan25 (via phone)
The US is offering its citizens evacuation flights out of Egypt.
"The US Embassy in Cairo informs U.S. citizens in Egypt who wish to depart that the Department of State is making arrangements to provide transportation to safehaven locations in Europe," a statement said, according to Reuters.The evacuation flights will start tomorrow.
The Foreign Office is advising Britons to leave Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, Britain's foreign secretary William Hague told Sky News.
He also talked of the danger of "extremism" taking hold in Egypt. "There is a great danger of violence running out of control," he said. Hague also urged the Egyptian government to show restraint and to allow freedom of expression. He condemned the closure of al-Jazeera's bureau in Cairo.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice on Egypt. It says:
We advise against all but essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez. We recommend that British nationals without a pressing need to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez leave by commercial means where it is safe to do so. British nationals in other areas of Egypt where there are demonstrations should follow the advice below and stay indoors wherever possible.
Al-Jazeera has this video report on the efforts of Cairo residents to maintain order in the city.
One of the Guardian's Middle East experts Brian Whitaker reflects on the latest rumours in Cairo. Writing on his own blog, he says there are reports that Mubarak's sons, Alaa and Gamal, have fled, but also that there will be could be an army crackdown today.
He writes: Rumours have been circulating that the army will take a much tougher line with protesters today – what some are calling the Tiananmen Square option. However, I am sceptical about that. For one, thing, the US has warned strongly against it, and though Mubarak may not listen to Washington I think his commanders are more likely to.
There are more signs of Israeli nervousness, following those comments by Netanyahu. Our Jerusalem correspondent, Harriet Sherwood reports:
Meanwhile, it's being reported in Gaza that three Palestinian prisoners being held in Al-Arish jail in Egypt have escaped and made their way back to Gaza through the tunnels.
The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has been closed until further notice, a Hamas official said.
Al Jazeera has denounced the closure of its Cairo bureau. In a statement it said:
Al-Jazeera sees this as an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists. In this time of deep turmoil and unrest in Egyptian society it is imperative that voices from all sides be heard; the closing of our bureau by the Egyptian government is aimed at censoring and silencing the voices of the Egyptian people...
Al Jazeera Network is appalled at this latest attack by the Egyptian regime to strike at its freedom to report independently on the unprecedented events in Egypt."
The government plans to shut down al-Jazeera's operations in Egypt, according to Reuters, citing the state news agency Mana.
"The information minister ordered ... suspension of operations of al-Jazeera, cancelling of its licences and withdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today," a statement said.
The station was the first to report that the governing party's headquarters were set on fire. Breathless phone reports came in from Jazeera correspondents in towns across Egypt. Live footage from Cairo alternated with action shots that played again and again. Orchestral music played, conveying the sense of a long-awaited drama.
Al Jazeera kept up its coverage despite serious obstacles. The broadcaster's separate live channel was removed from its satellite platform by the Egyptian government on Friday morning, its Cairo bureau had its telephones cut and its main news channel also faced signal interference, according to a statement released by the station. The director of the live channel issued an appeal to the Egyptian government to allow it to broadcast freely.
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed concern about "stability and security" in the region, in his first comments on the Egyptian unrest.
Photograph: Reuters "We are following with vigilance the events in Egypt and in our region ... at this time we must show responsibility and restraint and maximum consideration. Our efforts have been intended to continue to preserve stability and security in our region.
"I remind you that the peace between Israel and Egypt has lasted for over three decades."
"Local communities have taken security into their own hands," reports Jack Shenker from Cairo, after another "intense night".
He claims it is the people who are mobilising to maintain order, while plain clothes policeman try to create the impression of anarchy. The military has blocked Tahrir Square, Jack reports. "The army and the people are on one hand," protesters are chanting in an attempt to stand with the military.
"I am with you," an officer told the crowd last night, Jack said.
Protesters are shaking hands with soldiers in Tahrir Square, according to this audio clips which purports to have been recorded today. The speaker predicts more people will take to the streets today.
On the sixth day of protests, more than 1,000 people gathered in central, Cairo this morning, demanding the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak and his newly appointed deputy.
In a bid to cling to power Mubarak appointed his intelligence chief and confidant, Omar Suleiman, as his vice president and possible successor yesterday.The appointment is seen as an attempt to continue Egypt's military leadership. "This is a way of paving the way for a military-led regime in a so-called constitutional context. It is clearly the result of negotiations with the army," Ragui Assaad, a professor at the University of Minnesota told the New York Times.
Suleiman has become a new target for protesters. "Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans," they shouted this morning. "Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits," the demonstrators also chanted. Activist Hossam Hareedy, told the Guardian: "We want to get rid of a tyrant. Firing the cabinet was not what we had in mind. What we want is for Mubarak to be cut down."
Overnight "vigilante groups" took to the streets to the guard neighbourhoods against looting after police disappeared from the streets, according to Reuters.
There is a propaganda war over the nature of the unrest. The regime is trying to portray the protesters as thugs - arrested looters were paraded on state TV last night. Protesters point out that residents are intervening to stop the looting. Opposition supporters urged the media against portraying the situation as anarchy, as they claim this plays into the regime's hand.
The Egyptian blogger Mona Eltahawy, is quoted on the New York Times' Lede blog, saying said: "I urge you to use the words 'revolt' and 'uprising' and 'revolution' and not 'chaos' and not 'unrest, we are talking about a historic moment."
The differing media treatment of the protests is reflected in today's front pages. The Sunday's Telegraph's splashes with "Bloodshed on the streets". It lead story starts: "The full horror of Egypt's political convulsions has emerged, as relatives gathered at morgues filled with bodies and doctors described their heroic efforts to save the wounded."
By contrast the Independent on Sunday's front page (left) carriers an army officer clutching a flower and being held aloft by protesters. "The streets of Cairo proved what the United States and EU leaders have simply failed to grasp. It is over," writes Robert Fisk.
You can follow all of yesterday's events as the unfolded on Saturday's live blog.
