THREE people have died during protests across Egypt where tens of thousands took to the streets to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Two protesters, Ahmed Soliman Gaber and Mustafa Ragab, died in the port city of Suez in clashes between police and demonstrators. A policeman, Ahmed Aziz, died from his wounds in Cairo, where thousands had gathered in Tahrir square, a security official said. No details were given as to the circumstances of the deaths.
In several cities, including Cairo and Suez, police fired tear gas at protesters who responded by throwing rocks. The protests were the largest and most significant since riots over bread subsidies shook the Arab world's most populous nation in 1977, analysts said. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged all sides to "exercise restraint" and said Washington believed the Egyptian government was stable. Despite some 20,000 to 30,000 police being deployed in central Cairo, thousands marched to the Tahrir square in central Cairo where they chanted in unison: "The people want the ouster of the regime."
In a nearby road that leads to parliament, police sprayed water cannons as protesters threw stones. Some managed to commandeer a riot police truck and drive it for a few metres.
The protest, called by the pro-democracy youth group the April 6 Movement, coincided with a national holiday to mark Police Day, and came after the dramatic ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali following a wave of street riots. In another Cairo neighbourhood, demonstrators tore down Police Day posters of Mubarak and Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and set them on fire.
A statement released by the interior ministry said security forces had decided to allow demonstrators "to voice their demands and exercise their freedom of expression," with a commitment to "securing and not confronting these gathering." The ministry said that by the afternoon, a number of protesters, "particularly a large number of those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood ... began to riot, damage public public property and throw stones at police forces."
Among demands are the departure of the interior minister, whose security forces have been accused of heavy-handedness; an end to a decades-old state of emergency; and a rise in minimum wages. "We have a corrupt regime that wants to continue with oppression forever," said one of the protesters in Cairo, Ibrahim Mohammed, 21, a lawyer, as some around him prepared to hold an overnight sit-in in Tahrir square.
"These demonstrations are the most important since 1977, not only because of the number of participants and the fact that they are across the country, but because for the first time they are coming from the average man on the street," said Amr al-Choubaki, an analyst with the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. "The revolution in Tunisia of course, has been an inspiration."
Protests also broke out in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Mansura and Tanta, and in the southern cities of Aswan and Assiut, witnesses said. At least 20,000 demonstrated in Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, calling for the overthrow of the regime. Thousands gathered in Mansura, waving Egyptian flags and demanding more rights for Egyptians.
In the port city of Ismailiya, more than 1000 chanted anti-government slogans and warned other Arab leaders they would meet the same fate as veteran Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted by a popular uprising after 23 years in power.
"Zine El Abidine, who is coming next," they shouted.
In the north Sinai town of Al-Mahdia, near the Israeli border, hundreds demanded the release of political prisoners and an end to police heavy-handedness.
In Washington, Clinton defended the right of Egyptians to demonstrate peacefully.
