Egyptian police shot dead one protester in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, raising the official death toll to at least five on the third day of public protests in the country. Other sources say this number may be much higher. The wave of demonstrations that have hit the country have been inspired by the Tunisian unrest that forced their president to flee the country and saw a new government formed. Egyptians are calling for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old rule and are systematically chanting “down with the regime.” Thousands of protesters in Suez, two hours east of Cairo, continued to clash with riot police, which have responded with tear gas, sound bombs and water cannons in an effort to disperse the demonstrations. Suez has become the tipping point for what is now being termed the Egyptian revolution, as reports of violence flow across social networks. Many are referring to the area as a “war zone.” There has been a curfew in place in the city for the past two days and police are attempting to keep people out of the city. Reports that the military has taken over from the police have also trickled in. If that has happened, opposition leader Gameela Ismail said “it means that the police cannot handle the situation, and that the military has to go in and take care of things.” Images of cars burning and video of police clashing with demonstrators has been coming from the small city as citizens risk certain violence to spread the word. In nearby Ismailia, police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowds, but to little avail. The Egyptian demonstrations have organized online on websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The government responded by blocking Twitter and Facebook, while local reports says that the cell phone messaging services are also down. Egyptian opposition news websites, that were closely covering the protests, including al-Dostour and Al-Badeel, have been shut down. Activists are now using alternative online methods to view updates on Twitter and Facebook. Egyptians are now planning a major protest following the Friday prayer at noon where they hope hundreds of thousands who have pledged online will join in taking to the streets. Reports are mentioning that security forces are surrounding large mosques in an attempt to contain the protests before they move out. BM
