CAIRO: For four days Egyptians have gathered peacefully in Cairo's Tahrir Square to call for President Hosni Mubarak to step down after thirty years in power. When demonstrators forced the police forces out of Cairo on Friday, January 28, Egyptians took it upon themselves to protect their communities. In some areas there were reports of looting and violence – all of which, according to locals, was perpetrated by plainclothes security or government paid thugs – but in many areas residents came together to control road blocks and checkpoints with the help of the army. On Wednesday afternoon, however, everything changed. Pro-government demonstrators converged on Tahrir Square. At 3pm, when Bikya Masr was in Tahrir, they remained beyond the army checkpoints. The situation was tense, but under control. Soon, Tahrir Square was in chaos. Men on horses and camels charged the army's road blocks into Tahrir. Groups chanting pro-Mubarak slogans soon followed. The next two hours saw a vicious battle with rocks, Molotov cocktails, and tear gas. Live footage showed pro- and anti-Mubarak groups fighting back and forth over three military trucks. The army stood by and watched. A tweet from CNN reporter Ben Weedmen read, “Overheard army officer off Tahrir square. They have no strategy to deal with situation. They are watching passively.” Heavyweight opposition figurehead Mohamed ElBaradei has called for the army to intervene, but so far they have stayed true to not using violence against demonstrators – of either side. But they also have not maintained the peace. Egyptian television reported a few minutes ago that the army has received threats of “balls of fire” and is warning demonstrators that they should leave Tahrir Square. Reports have also come through that Molotov cocktails have been thrown on demonstrators from rooftops at at the Egyptian Museum. Reports say some of the homemade fire bombs landed inside the Museum's gates, but as of this time the Museum itself was not on fire. “Mubarak's thugs r now throwing molotov cocktails on the Egyptian museum. Our civilization will b turn to ashes by Obama's allies,” tweeted Hossam Hamalawy, a well-known blogger and editor of Egypt's Al-Ahram Online. Since pushing the police out of Cairo on Friday, Egyptian citizens have vigilantly protected the Museum. Many Egyptians are pleading via Twitter and other social networking sites to protect Egypt's history. In some areas of Tahrir, there appears to be relative calm. A tweet revealed that a man with a megaphone was attempting to reunite families who had been separated in the chaos. “Omg I have someones child, I have a child. 2 yrs max, green eyes, says his name mahmoud. Tweet it for me,” read a tweet by BloggerSeif around 6:45pm. There have also been reports of journalists filming from hotel balconies being told to stop. Around 7pm local time Hamish Macdonald tweeted, “Hotel security just entered our room and told us we are not allowed to have cameras on balcony.” Amid the chaos, Egyptians are pleading for help, and pleading with the international media to share the truth of what is happening in Egypt. BM
