Israel Matzav

ElBaradei arrested in Egypt?

A few updates from Egypt - where all hell has apparently broken loose - before the Sabbath starts.

First, former IAEA chief and putative Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei arrived back in Egypt on Thursday. According to various reports he is either participating in demonstrations (and has been water cannoned), has his movements restricted so he cannot participate in the demonstrations, or has been placed under arrest.

Second, the Egyptian government has cut off the internet and cell phone service, although somehow there are still tweets from Egypt coming through on Twitter. Here is a graph of the internet cutoff in Egypt on Thursday:

Note the precipitous drop in traffic around 5:20 pm.

Here's a statement from Vodaphone on cell phone services in Egypt.

All mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas. Under Egyptian legislation the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it. The Egyptian authorities will be clarifying the situation in due course .

Third, unsurprisingly, all hell broke loose after Friday prayers.

Thousands of Egyptian anti-government protesters clashed Friday with police in Cairo, who fired rubber bullets into the crowds and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. It was a major escalation in what was already the biggest challenge to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's 30 year-rule.

Police also used water cannons against Egypt's pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei and his supporters as they joined the latest wave of protests after noon prayers. Police also used batons to beat some of ElBaradei's supporters, who surrounded him to protect him.

A soaking wet ElBaradei was trapped inside a mosque nearly an hour after him and his supporters were water cannoned. Hundreds of riot police laid siege to the mosque, firing tear gas in the streets surrounding it so no one could leave. The tear gas canisters set several cars ablaze outside the mosque. Several people fainted and suffered burns.

Large groups of protesters, in the thousands, were gathered at at least six venues in Cairo, a city of about 18 million people. They are demanding Mubarak's ouster.

There were smaller protests in Assiut south of Cairo and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula. Regional television stations were reporting clashes between thousands of demonstrators and police in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Minya south of Cairo.

At the upscale Mohandiseen district, at least 10,000 of people were marching toward the city center chanting "down, down with Mubarak." The crowd later swelled to about 20,000 as they made their way through residential areas. Residents looking on from apartment block windows waved at them and whistled in support. Others waved the red, white and black Egyptian flags.

At Ramsis square in the heart of the city, thousands of protesters clashed with police as they left the al-Nur mosque after prayers. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets and some of the tear gas was fired inside the mosque where women were taking refuge.

Clusters of riot police with helmets and shields were stationed around the city, at the entrances to bridges across the Nile and other key intersections.

Near the city's main Tahrir Square downtown, hundreds of riot police clustered together and moved in, anticipating the arrival of a large crowd of protesters. A short while later, thousands of protesters marched across a bridge over the Nile and moved toward the square, where police began firing tear gas into the crowds.

Prominent Egyptian democracy activist Ayman Nour has been struck in the head by a rock and hospitalized in a semi-conscious state.

Israel Radio reports that at least one person has been killed and tens have been wounded.

Egypt is holding reporters at the airport in Cairo and not letting them into the country.

Finally, this quip from Twitter bears passing on:

Kim Jong-il is telling his son tonight, "See why it's good to have no Internet to cut off in the first place?"

Sad.

Labels: Ayman Nour, Cairo 25 January 2011, Egyptian riots, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed ElBaradei

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:45 PM