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| Protesters gather in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt [Adam Makary] |
January 2011: Activists in Egypt call for an uprising in their own country, to protest against poverty, unemployment, government corruption and the rule of president Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for three decades.
January 25: On a national holiday to commemorate the police forces, Egyptians take to the streets in large numbers, calling it a «day of rage».
Thousands march in downtown Cairo, heading towards the offices of the ruling National Democratic Party, as well as the foreign ministry and the state television. Similar protests are reported in other towns across the country.
After a few hours of relative calm, police and demonstrators clash; police fired tear gas and use water cannons against demonstrators crying out «Down with Mubarak» in Cairo’s main Tahrir Square.
Protests break 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 say.
Hours after the countrywide protests began, the interior ministry issues a statement blaming the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s technically banned but largest opposition party, for fomenting the unrest – a claim that the Muslim Brotherhood denies.
Egypt protest organisers heavily relied on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.
Egypt’s interior minister says three protesters and a police officer have been killed during the anti-government demonstrations.
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| Protesters faced tear gas, water cannon and beatings from the heavy police presence [Adam Makary] |
January 26: A protester and a police officer are killed in central Cairo as anti-government demonstrators pelt security forces with rocks and firebombs for a second day, according to witnesses.
Police use tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse protesters in Cairo. Witnesses say that live ammunition was also fired into the air.
In Suez, the scene of bloody clashes the previous day, police and protesters clash again.
Medical personnel in Suez say that 55 protesters and 15 police officers have been injured.
Robert Gibbs, a spokesman for Barack Obama, the US president, tell reporters that the government should «demonstrate its responsiveness to the people of Egypt» by recognising their «universal rights».
Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League, says he believes «the Arab citizen is angry, is frustrated».
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| Upon his return to Cairo Mohamed ElBaradei said he was ready to «lead the transition» in Egypt if asked [Reuters] |
January 27: Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog turned democracy advocate, arrives in Egypt to join the protests.
ElBaradei says he is ready to «lead the transition» in Egypt if asked.
Meanwhile, protests continue across several cities. Hundreds have been arrested, but the protesters say they will not give up until their demand is met.
Protesters clash with police in Cairo neighbourhoods. Violence also erupts in the city of Suez again, while in the northern Sinai area of Sheikh Zuweid, several hundred bedouins and police exchange live gunfire, killing a 17-year-old man.
In Ismailia, hundreds of protesters clash with police.
Lawyers stage protests in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta town of Toukh, north of Cairo.
Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry Messenger services are disrupted.
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| Anti-government protesters have called for mass protests after noon prayers on Friday [Adam Makary] |
January 28: Internet and mobile phone text message users in Egypt report major disruption to services as the country prepared for a new wave of protests after Friday prayers.
The Associated Press news agency says an elite special counterterrorism force has been deployed at strategic points around Cairo in the hours before the planned protests.
Egypt’s interior ministry also warns of «decisive measures».
Meanwhile, a lawyer for the opposition Muslim Brotherhood says that 20 members of the officially banned group have been detained overnight.
Egypt remains on edge, as police and protesters clash throughout the country.
Eleven civilians get killed in Suez and 170 injured. No deaths were reported in Cairo. At least 1,030 people get injured countrywide.
The riots continue throughout the night, even as Mubarak announces that he dismisses his government. Mubarak himself refuses to step down. His whereabouts are unknown.
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| President Mubarak said he would not allow protests to jeopardise reforms [AFP] |
January 29: Egyptian soldiers secure Cairo’s famed antiquities museum early on Saturday, protecting thousands of priceless artifacts, including the gold mask of King Tutankhamun, from looters.
The greatest threat to the Egyptian Museum, which draws millions of tourists a year, appeares to come from the fire engulfing the ruling party headquarters next door on Friday night, set ablaze by anti-government protesters.
Massive anti-government demonstrations are sweeping through downtown Cairo, defying a government curfew and demanding the ouster of Mubarak.
The army had warned that anyone who remained on the streets after 4pm local time (1400 GMT) would be in danger, but as the deadline passed, protests continued in central Cairo and the port city of Alexandria.
Police killed at least three protesters when they tried to storm the Interior Ministry, Al Jazeera has learned. It was not immediately clear whether the riot police were shooting live ammunition or rubber bullets.
The Egyptian Stock Exchange and the Central Bank of Egypt will not open on Sunday, «to prevent the spread of riots».
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| There are reports that police have opened fire on a massive crowd of protesters in downtown Cairo [AFP] |
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