Violent Riots in Egypt & Middle East Continue; Reports of "Massacre" in Suez

[Optimus]

‘Day of Wrath’ protests in Egypt call for end to Mubarak’s rule



Marwa Awad and Dina Zayed, Reuters · Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011

CAIRO - Thousands of Egyptians demanded an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule and clashed with police in unprecedented countrywide protests on Tuesday inspired by the revolt that brought down Tunisia’s president.

“Down, down, Hosni Mubarak,” chanted protesters in Cairo, where police fired teargas and used water cannon, and protesters hurled bottles and rocks at them.

Some protesters were beaten hard by police with sticks. Others, in a rare show of nerve against a huge national security operation, chased police down side streets. Reuters TV footage showed one policeman joining the demonstrators.

In Alexandria protesters tore down a picture of Mr. Mubarak, 82, and one of his son, Gamal, who many Egyptians believe is being groomed for office when his father stands down. Both deny this.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/Wrath+protests+Egypt+call+Mubarak+rule/4165070/story.html#ixzz1C4uAUAuv

[Optimus]

Thousands of Egyptian protesters clash with police
 
By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times January 25, 2011 10:36 AM

CAIRO - Thousands of Egyptian protesters inspired by the revolt in Tunisia rushed police and battled tear gas Tuesday in demonstrations against the political repression and unemployment that have defined three decades of rule by President Hosni Mubarak.

Groups of protesters marched through downtown Cairo, crossing bridges and outflanking riot police as the crowds headed for a square a few blocks from the parliament building. Security forces, which had shown unusual restraint early in the day, swung batons and clashed with demonstrators amid chants of "Freedom" and "Down with Mubarak."

The protests were larger than any Egypt has seen in years. But it was unclear if the country's opposition could mimic Tunisia and capitalize on sustained public pressure to threaten one of the region's most entrenched police states. More than 80,000 people signed up on Facebook to attend the rallies, but the number in the streets was far fewer.

Estimates suggested that at least several thousand protesters squared off against as many as 20,000 security forces. Cairo became a fluid maze of protesters rushing through traffic as helmeted police - their boots slapping the pavement - hurried to corral them on boulevards lined with amazed bystanders.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Thousands+Egyptian+protesters+clash+with+police/4163647/story.html#ixzz1C4vtiDif

[Optimus]

Tuesday, January 25, 2011     INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING

Arab League to members: Economic conditions fueling 'unprecedented' anger

CAIRO — Arab leaders have been warned that they are vulnerable to the same kind of revolt that ousted Tunisia's president.

Arab League secretary-general Amr Mussa urged member states to quickly confront their economic and social problems. Mussa warned that unrest was reaching unprecedented levels throughout the Middle East.

"The Arab citizen has entered a stage of anger that is unprecedented," Mussa said.

The warning was issued amid a wave of unrest throughout the Middle East. In wake of the downfall of the regime of President Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali, violent demonstrations have swept Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Sudan.

"What is happening in Tunisia in terms of the revolution is not an issue far from the issues of this summit which is economic and social development," Mussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister, said.

More: http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_gulf0057_01_25.asp

[Optimus]

Riots erupt in Lebanon after designation of Hezbollah’s Mikati as PM

25 January 2011

BEIRUT, LEBANON (BNO NEWS) -- Riots and protests on Tuesday erupted after Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman designated Najib Mikati as Prime Minsiter designate, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Many demonstrators have been injured in Tripoli, Qebba, Zahle and Wata Al-Mousaytbeh regions. Lebanese Army has been deployed to the areas to disperse protesters.

In the Bar-Elias region in Zahle, protesters set barricades on fire by using tires. The protest erupted into gunfire causing the injury of one person who was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.

The main road that connects Tripoli with Menieh-Akkar was blocked by Sunnites protesters who burned tires and blocked the access. Another protester was hurt due to gun shots.

More: http://channel6newsonline.com/2011/01/riots-erupt-in-lebanon-after-designation-of-hezbollahs-mikati-as-pm/

[shipgeek]

This is the Facebook page that called for today's protests in Egypt

Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53978&id=190010347692491
(constantly updated by members)

Page
http://www.facebook.com/Yom.Elsawra.25.January?v=photos#!/Yom.Elsawra.25.January?v=wall

This is quite interesting.

If some of you can help with translation.
Thank you.

 

[Suriel]

from http://www.facebook.com/TheRawStory

Good afternoon. Gamal Mubarak, the son of Egypt's president, has fled the country amid intensifying protests, according to published reports. More soon at RawStory.com.

[usefulidiot,uselesseater]

At least three people were killed as thousands of Egyptians clashed with police during an unprecedented 'Day of Wrath' protest against the country's three-decade-old regime.

The protests in Cairo and other cities, calling for an end to president Hosni Mubarak's rule, may have drawn 20,000 people or more, based on witnesses.

An Interior Ministry statement said more than 10,000 gathered in one central square in Cairo alone, but did not give an overall number. The number of protesters is hard to estimate because the protests are so spread out.

State television said one security officer died in central Cairo and security and medical sources said two protesters died after being hit by rubber bullets in the city of Suez.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/26/3121906.htm?section=world

Food Prices were a prime motivator here as well as the riots in Tunisia. The Bankers strike again 

[Suriel]

Reports of ‘massacre’ in Suez as protests in Egypt move into third day

By Daniel Tencer
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 -- 10:06 pm


Anti-government protests in Egypt moved into their third day early Thursday, with unconfirmed reports of police "massacres" of civilians in the port city of Suez.

In Cairo, protesters "played cat and mouse with police" into the early hours of Thursday, Reuters reported. Opposition groups reported on their websites that electronic communications had been cut off in the city center, and parts of the city were experiencing blackouts.

The official death toll stood at six over the first two days of protests, but social networks were abuzz with claims of police shooting at protesters, many of those reports focusing on the city of Suez, where protesters torched a government building on Wednesday.

read more @ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/reports-massacre-suez-protests-egypt/

[charrington]

Bloody and bruised: the journalist caught in Egypt unrest


Bloody and bruised: the journalist caught in Egypt unrest

The Guardian's man in Cairo tells of his beating and arrest at the hands of the security forces

Protest in Tahrir Square, Cairo Anti-government protesters light flares in Tahrir Square, Cairo. Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

In the streets around Abdel Munim Riyad square the atmosphere had changed. The air which had held a carnival-like vibe was now thick with teargas. Thousands of people were running out of nearby Tahrir Square and towards me. Several hundred regrouped; a few dozen protesters set about attacking an abandoned police truck, eventually tipping it over and setting it ablaze. Through the smoke, lines of riot police could be seen charging towards us from the south.

Jack Shenker records his experience of being beaten by police alongside protesters in Cairo Link to this audio

Along with nearby protesters I fled down the street before stopping at what appeared to be a safe distance. A few ordinarily dressed young men were running in my direction. Two came towards me and threw out punches, sending me to the ground. I was hauled back up by the scruff of the neck and dragged towards the advancing police lines.

My captors were burly and wore leather jackets – up close I could see they were amin dowla, plainclothes officers from Egypt's notorious state security service. All attempts I made to tell them in Arabic and English that I was an international journalist were met with more punches and slaps; around me I could make out other isolated protesters receiving the same brutal treatment and choking from the teargas.

We were hustled towards a security office on the edge of the square. As I approached the doorway of the building other plainclothes security officers milling around took flying kicks and punches at me, pushing me to the floor on several occasions only to drag me back up and hit me again. I spotted a high-ranking uniformed officer, and shouted at him that I was a British journalist. He responded by walking over and punching me twice. "f**k you and f**k Britain," he yelled in Arabic.

One by one we were thrown through the doorway, where a gauntlet of officers with sticks and clubs awaited us. We queued up to run through the blows and into a dank, narrow corridor where we were pushed up against the wall. Our mobiles and wallets were removed. Officers stalked up and down, barking at us to keep staring at the wall. Terrified of incurring more beatings, most of my fellow detainees – almost exclusively young men in their 20s and 30s, some still clutching dishevelled Egyptian flags from the protest – remained silent, though some muttered Qur'anic verses and others were shaking with sobs.

We were ordered to sit down. Later a senior officer began dragging people to their feet again, sending them back out through the gauntlet and into the night, where we were immediately jumped on by more police officers – this time with riot shields – and shepherded into a waiting green truck belonging to Egypt's central security forces. A policeman pushed my head against the doorframe as I entered.

Inside dozens were already crammed in and crouching in the darkness. Some had heard the officers count us as we boarded; our number stood at 44, all packed into a space barely any bigger than the back of a Transit van. A heavy metal door swung shut behind us.

As the truck began to move, brief flashes of orange streetlight streamed through the thick metal grates on each side. With no windows, it was our only source of illumination. Each glimmer revealed bruised and bloodied faces; sandwiched in so tightly the temperature soared, and people fainted. Fragments of conversation drifted through the truck.

"The police attacked us to get us out of the square; they didn't care who you were, they just attacked everybody," a lawyer standing next to me, Ahmed Mamdouh, said breathlessly. "They … hit our heads and hurt some people. There are some people bleeding, we don't know where they're taking us. I want to send a message to my wife; I'm not afraid but she will be so scared, this is my first protest and she told me not to come here today."

Despite the conditions the protesters held together; t...
MORE
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/27/egypt-riot-security-force-action?cat=world&type=article

[Optimus]

World Gripped By Anti-Government Riots; America Next?
http://www.infowars.com/world-gripped-by-anti-government-riots-america-next/
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowrs.com
January 27, 2011

[Freeski]

They're planning a mass protest tomorrow -- after Friday prayers. Could be a hairy day, esp. if Tunisia, Yemen and others do the same.

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In Egypt, nationwide protests planned for January 28
A 'Friday Martyrs and Political prisoners" is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, after noon prayers. Tens of thousands are expected to turn out
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/4953/Egypt/Politics-/In-Egypt,-nationwide-protests-planned-for-January-.aspx

“We are using every means possible to reach the people, because this protest will be bigger than anything Egypt has ever seen before, it will be huge,” Amal Sharaf, a member of the 6th of April Movement told Ahram Online.

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The Muslim Brotherhood has called for its followers to demonstrate after the weekly Muslim prayers -- the first time in the current round of unrest that the largest opposition bloc has told supporters to take to the streets.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/27/egypt.protests/

[Freeski]

There is a saying on Wall Street, attributed to 18th century British banker Baron Rothschild, that advises investors to "buy when there's blood in the streets."
http://africa.ibtimes.com/articles/105892/20110128/blood-in-streets-of-egypt-as-protests-erupt-time-to-buy-soon.htm

Unreal!

Twitter and Facebook blocked as Egypt tries to stamp out mass protests
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351070/Egypt-protests-Twitter-Facebook-blocked-Government.html#ixzz1CG510pwJ

[Freeski]

The Arab World afire
(DP-News – NYPost)
27/01/2011

With Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" still trying to find its way, protests look to be spreading to other Arab countries with despotic regimes. From Morocco to Egypt to Syria, crowds have demonstrated, demanding an end to dictatorship.

In the last few days, the largest demonstrations have taken place in Beirut and Amman.

http://www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?l=2&articleId=72091

[Freeski]

India/Kashmir too...

Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani today gave a call for holding peaceful protests in Jammu and Kashmir after Friday prayers tomorrow against targeting of his amalgam’s cadres allegedly by police and other security agencies.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article1129989.ece

[Optimus]

Reports of ‘massacre’ in Suez as protests in Egypt move into third day

By Daniel Tencer
Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 -- 10:06 pm


Anti-government protests in Egypt moved into their third day early Thursday, with unconfirmed reports of police "massacres" of civilians in the port city of Suez.

In Cairo, protesters "played cat and mouse with police" into the early hours of Thursday, Reuters reported. Opposition groups reported on their websites that electronic communications had been cut off in the city center, and parts of the city were experiencing blackouts.

The official death toll stood at six over the first two days of protests, but social networks were abuzz with claims of police shooting at protesters, many of those reports focusing on the city of Suez, where protesters torched a government building on Wednesday.

read more @ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/reports-massacre-suez-protests-egypt/

Thursday, January 27, 2011
Further Information on Suspected Massacre in Suez, Egypt
http://www.activistpost.com/2011/01/further-information-on-suspected.html
Philip Brennan

Disturbing reports of a massacre at the coastal town of Suez, in Egypt, are coming through Raw Story and the Egyptian Association for Change USA. From what we can ascertain, the whole city is on lock-down with a complete media blackout. Journalists from Al Jazeera and other reputable media outlets have been prevented from getting any where near Suez.

A statement on the Egyptian Association for Change USA Facebook wall reads:

...The situation in Suez copied and translated word for word from an Egyptian living in Suez: Now everything is fully destroyed, it is as if we are in emergency curfew, armored vehicles/tanks are everywhere in the area of 'Irbieen' and in the governerate - and we hear the sound of bombs/grenades every few minutes and there is still live ammunition and the protesters are brave men and women and none of them are afraid nor did anyone run or escape, even though they know that alot of protesters are detained in towers since 9 o'clock and there are no networks to confirm that parents are okay and security forces and fully in charge and we have yet to see the mayor, he hasn't even made a statement about what has happened and to comfort the parents of those who were jailed and the parents are enraged. One of the parents hasn't even received the body of her daughter until now and chaos is filling the place and we do not know what fate will being to us tomorrow with this government...

Few pictures or videos are coming out of Suez, but what we have been able to obtain do look very disturbing. A grainy photograph below, courtesy of Rassd News Network, shows fires in the streets of Suez and protesters milling around, probably shortly before the military crackdown on the protesters:

Some Arabic language audio reports are being posted up on YouTube, but as I do not speak Arabic I am unable to make use of them. As soon as English Language or subtitled versions start appearing, they will be posted to this site.

Naturally, I will post updates to the situation as and when they come.