Chaos in Cairo: Regime Attacks #Jan25 Protesters [Updated]
- By Spencer Ackerman
- February 2, 2011 |
- 8:16 am |
- Categories: Info War
A plume of thick white smoke is emerging right now in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, an epicenter of Egypt’s massive protests, as “running battles” have broken out between the anti-regime protesters and pro-government forces. The Egyptian Army has yet to intervene. It would appear the government of Hosni Mubarak, on the ropes for the past eight days, has begun its crackdown.
Even as he pledged to step down in September, Mubarak told his police forces, the bulwark of his 30-year rule, to “shoulder its responsibilities” and “arrest the outlaws” yesterday. Within the hour, previously unseen supporters of Mubarak fought with protesters in Alexandria. Now it’s spread to the massive crowds at Tahrir Square in Cairo, where the demonstrators weren’t placated by Mubarak’s speech.
It’s all happening right now, live on Al Jazeera, and it’s not pretty. Protesters are throwing rocks at one another, and eyewitnesses report that people they believe are plainclothes police are wielding knives, sticks and “daggers.” The past week of anti-regime protests has been notable for their nonviolence. Now, pro-regime demonstrators are charging the square on horseback and camelback — two protesters even pulled someone off a camel. It’s worth noting that the regime has turned the Internet back on, as Renesys reports, right in time for its supporters to mobilize.
People are rushing one another near the square, where “pro-and anti-Mubarak forces are coming face to face in the side streets,” according to Al Jazeera’s on-scene correspondent. “I can see people running past me with blood on their shirts… No one knows where to go, who’s with who.” No one seems to know what caused the white smoke.
What about the Egyptian Army, which won accolades from the U.S. for not suppressing the anti-government demonstrations? It’s taking a hands-off approach, telling demonstrators that since everyone involved is a civilian, soldiers are not going to take sides. That’s according to anti-regime demonstrator Salma Eltarzi, who told Al Jazeera that she sees Mubarak’s game plan at work.
“We are in disbelief. We cannot believe [Mubarak] is so low,” she told the network. “The Army is very clear: you are both civilians and you cannot beat civilians. This is the game. He wants it to seem like the people are fighting each other so he has an excuse — ‘I was going to leave, but the people’s needs demand that I stay.”
Eltarzi added someone near her is “very badly wounded.” Al Jazeera’s reporter said she’s been hit in the eye but is still reporting. There are other reports that a cameraman has been trampled by a camel. Joshua Hersh, a reporter with The Daily, tweets that there are “dozens of head wounds” at a makeshift clinic by the square.
That may be enough for the Army. Two tanks have just reportedly arrived at the Square, apparently to restore order. Images aren’t on screen yet, but near the National Museum, the tanks appear to be separating about 500 to 600 demonstrators. Soldiers reportedly emerged from their tanks, unarmed, to wave Egyptian flags in the hopes of calming everyone down. I heard what sounded like a helicopter above.
Shadi Hamid, an anti-regime scholar at the Brookings Institution, tweets, “This is why ppl were mistaken to see army as savior. Army is not going to stop this. Army content w- mubarak concessions,” adding, “The counter-revolution has officially begun.”
What will the U.S. say and do in response? We’ll keep updating this space.
Update, 9:06 a.m.: The melee is intensifying. “Hundreds of rocks” are flying, per Al Jazeera, and across the square, people are setting up makeshift checkpoints. According to the news network, at least three security vehicles — including, apparently, Army transport — used to separate the warring factions have been taken over by pro-regime forces. Gunfire is audible; it’s believed those were warning shots.
Via the New York Times, Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey echoes Eltarzi that this is all a regime plot. Check out Sandmonkey’s Twitter feed and you can see confidence in the success of the revolution turn into fear.
“The aim of this is to evacuate the Tahrir square & justify never having protests there Friday, where 1 is scheduled, or ever again.” And: “Authoritarian Regimes, watch Mubarak and learn from the master. His regime doesn’t fuck around.”
Perhaps the most terrifying tweets: “Ok, it is official, my @Mobinil line has twitter and facebook blocked on it. They work fine on my etisalat line. Fuck you @Mobinil.” Followed up with: “This means the regime knows who i am and where I live. My life is now officially in danger.”
Update, 9:20 a.m.: Al Jazeera reports that at least one building by the square has been set on fire. Coverage of the Army is now extremely critical: while soldiers have apparently set up some personnel carriers as barriers between the two sides, they haven’t stopped what the network described as a pro-government mob from pulling someone into its crowd and evidently beating him. Sultan al-Qassemi of The National tweets, referring to the defense minister and Army chief of staff, “Shame on the Egyptian Army. This is as low as they can get. What are Tantawi & Anan waiting for, a massacre or a stampede? Disgusting.”
Update, 10:00 a.m.: More tanks have moved into the square, but they appear to be stationary now, while huge throngs of people clash around them. The battle lines are moving back and forth. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and British PM David Cameron issued a joint statement calling the chaos “unacceptable.” In what I think is the first U.S. government response to today’s chaos, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley tweets at 9:58 a.m., “We are concerned about detentions and attacks on news media in #Egypt. The civil society that Egypt wants to build includes a free press.” Not really sure that’s the central issue right now.
Update, 10:12: Al Jazeera catches up with a terrified Salma Eltarzi. Panicked, she says she can’t escape the square and there are no ambulances anywhere. “There are a lot of people wounded,” she says. Al Jazeera ends its interview with her by saying that Mohamed ElBaradei, the opposition figure, has called on the Army to intervene to stop the violence.
Update, 12:30 p.m.: Al Jazeera reports that men with guns, presumed to be police, are driving through and around the square telling people to go home. The situation seems to be calmer than it was a few hours ago, but Al Jazeera’s correspondent raises the specter that the violence could reignite.
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