The departure of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime is "imminent," said prominent opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei minutes after a crowd of protesters pulled him to safety inside a mosque today while thousands protested outside in the face of police who shot tear gas, water, red burning liquid and drove their vehicles into the crowd. "This kind of violence will be counterproductive, and it will backfire in their face, if not today, tomorrow," said ElBaradei, his clothes soaking and his mouth and nose covered with a blue mask to protect from the gas. "I used to call for a transitional period by peaceful and democratic methods, but the regime is closing that door. I have no doubt that the people will win." Thousands gathered in front of Giza's Istiqama mosque at noon today to pray, protest, and wait for ElBaradei to appear. Elbaradei is the leader of the National Association for Change who had arrived in Cairo last night from Vienna to take part in the "Anger" protests. As soon as he could breathe to speak, he addressed a crowd of a few dozen men and women who rallied around him in the relative calm of the mosque. "This in an indication of a barbaric regime that is doomed," he said. "They are completely desperate. I hope the pictures will be everywhere to show how barbaric, petrified, and dictatorial the regime is. Now it's the people versus the thugs. " Ibrahim Eissa, former Editor in Chief of Al-Dostour newspaper, stood next to ElBaradei. Wet and wearing a white mask, he told Al-Masry Al-Youm that "I wasn't expecting the regime to project a bad image that quickly, but now it's clear that the regime is stupid." He went on to say that the regime "seems terrified that these protests are turning into a full fledged revolution." Earlier the mosque was filled with hundreds. The crowd, composed mostly of men but also containing a number of women and children, filled the stairs, the driveway, and street in front of the mosque. People laid out prayer mats, scarves, and sheets of newspaper in preparation for the noon prayer, while police began forming a human fence around them. When ElBaradei arrived with Eissa, a crowd gathered around them tightly until they began to line to for prayer. From the steps of the mosque, men urged the protesters to wait until after the prayer to begin demonstrations. An atmosphere of calm prevailed during the prayer itself. Immediately after the prayer, people stood up and began shouting "The people want to oust the regime!" The police and protesters advanced toward one another with ElBaradei sealed in a crowd of protesters. The police immediately began spraying the crowd with water, throwing tear gas canisters, an unidentified burning red liquid and driving their vans into the crowds, pushing them down the street. The crowd, which was growing in numbers as protesters from other areas joined, retreated. They ran back toward the mosque as police advanced. While sirens and shouts continued outside, ElBaradei addressed foreign reporters inside the mosque, saying, "It's now for the international community to express its views on the so-called stability of the Egyptian government. If they do not do that now, they will lose any residue of credibility they have left in Egypt and the rest of the Arab World." "Obviously, as you can see, I'm taking a risk, but it's a risk worth taking," he concluded. The protests showed no signs of abating Friday afternoon. Additional reporting by Valentina Cattane.
