CAIRO - Several thousand supporters of President Hosni Mubarak, including some riding horses and camels and wielding whips, attacked anti-government protesters Wednesday as Egypt's upheaval took a dangerous new turn. In chaotic scenes, the two sides pelted each other with stones, and protesters dragged attackers off their horses.
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The turmoil was the first significant violence between supporters of the two camps in more than a week of anti-government protests. It erupted after Mubarak went on national television the night before and rejected demands he step down immediately and said he would serve out the remaining seven months of his term.
Wednesday morning, a military spokesman appeared on state TV Wednesday and asked the protesters to disperse so life in Egypt could get back to normal. The announcement could mark a major turn in the attitude of the army, which for the past two days has allowed protests to swell, reaching their largest size yet on Tuesday when a quarter-million peace packed into Cairo's central Tahrir Square.
Nearly 10,000 protesters massed again in Tahrir on Wednesday morning, rejecting Mubarak's speech as too little too late and renewed their demands he leave immediately. In the early afternoon Wednesday, an Associated Press reporter saw around 3,000 Mubarak supporters break through a human chain of anti-government protesters trying to defend thousands gathered in Tahrir.
Chaos erupted as they tore down banners denouncing the president. Fistfights broke out as they advanced across the massive square in the heart of the capital. The anti-government protesters grabbed Mubarak posters from the hands of the supporters and ripped them. The two sides began hurling stones and bottles and sticks at each other, chasing each other as the protesters' human chains moved back to try to shield the larger mass of demonstrators at the plaza's center.
At one point, a small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-Mubarak crowds, swinging whips and sticks to beat people. Protesters retaliated, dragging some from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody.
Protesters were seen running with their shirts or faces bloodied, some men and women in the crowd were weeping. A scent of tear gas wafted over the area, but it was not clear who had fired it.
The army troops who have been guarding the square had been keeping the two sides apart earlier in the day, but when the clashes erupted they did not intervene. Most took shelter behind or inside the armored vehicles and tanks stationed at the entrances to Tahrir.
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Molotov Cocktail
Sultan Al Qassemi tweets a photo of a television, which he says shows a Molotov cocktail exploding near the famed Egyptian Museum.
 | @ SultanAlQassemi : Molotov cocktails explode near the Egyptian Museum. Al Jazeera page grab. Museum contains 120,000 items http://yfrog.com/h43orej |
No Warning
White House Chief of Staff William Daley says the United States had no warning of the attacks in Egypt.
Mubarak Has 'Presidential Plan To Put Down Demonstrations At Any Cost'
Translator Jafar Jafari spoke with Mohammad Ali Sabra, a former general director of staff at the presidential palace who now consults for World Bank. Jafari summarized the former general director's comments during the conversation:
- Knowing what I know about Mubarak, I can attest with certainty that there exists a presidential plan to put down the demonstrations at any cost, through his security forces (police) and the national party members.- I tried entering Liberation Square and was told all entrances are closed except one. Being directed to the open entrance, I was searched multiple time (about 10 times). In one stage, my pencil was confiscated because (I was told) that it was considered a weapon.- From my long experience, Mubarak does not listen to anyone; he’s obstinate to the point of being blind to events.- In 1997, Mubarak started the process of slowly, but gradually, positioning his son. He ordered a copy of the daily intelligence briefs to be given to Gamal Mubarak. This clearly proves his intention to pass the reign to his son.
500 Wounded
Politico's Mike Allen tweets that AFP is reporting 500 wounded in Cairo clashes:
 | @ mikeallen : AFP URGENT At least 500 wounded in Cairo protest clashes: medic |
Muslim Brotherhood Leader: Police Using Burning Material, Daggers, Batons
Translator Jafar Jafari spoke with Mohammad El Beltagi of the Muslim Brotherhood at 3:25 PM Cairo time. Jafari writes that El Beltagi said the following:
- There are tens of killed and wounded in the Square and vicinity as a consequence to the police force intervention. - The police is using burning material, possibly chemicals, in addition to their batons and daggers.- Issues a call to the international community to publicly withdraw its support of the Mubarak regime, and intervene to save the bloodshed.
More Disguises?
A Cairo resident tells translator Jafar Jafari that he can see people wearing military uniforms who are not actually military personnel, but instead members of the police force.
From Cairo
Blogger Scott Macleod sends the following:
He writes:
Many were there to just witness history. The hundreds of Egyptian flags--being waved or wrapped around bodies--reflected the nationalist sentiments. Scores of signs I saw read "Down, Down Mubarak," but I didn't see any placards against the U.S. or Israel. I asked a man if I could photograph him holding his cat, which had a little protest sign saying "No Mubark" around his neck.
U.S. 'Deplores And Condemns The Violence'
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just issued the following statement: "The United States deplores and condemns the violence that is taking place in Egypt, and we are deeply concerned about attacks on the media and peaceful demonstrators. We repeat our strong call for restraint."
UN Fears 300 Killed?
An Al Jazeera correspondent says that the UN fears 300 have been killed, although she did not specify whether that figure is from today or since the protests began.
'Bloodbath'
CNN's Ben Wedemen tweets:
 | @ bencnn : People in Tahrir square begging Obama to intervene. They are terrified a bloodbath is about to occur. #Jan25 #Egypt |
U.S. Employees Leave Egypt
According to the AP:
The U.S. began evacuating nonessential government personnel and their families Wednesday, while crowds piled up at Cairo's airport as more than 8,000 people played the odds in hopes of securing a seat aboard a commercial airline that would allow them to escape the chaos engulfing Egypt.
Thousands of passengers were packed into the airport early Wednesday, with more expected to arrive in the early afternoon before the start of a curfew that Egyptian state television said had been pushed back to 5 p.m. The influx of passengers came as demonstrators demanding President Hosni Mubarak's ouster clashed with the leader's supporters – some riding horses and camels – in central Cairo in a fresh outbreak of violence in the week-old protests.
Read more here.
'Mubarak's Thugs'
New York Times columnist Nick Kristof tweets from Cairo:
 | @ NickKristof : I tried to interview a young woman who was surrounded and bullied by Mubarak's thugs. She stood her ground.heroically. |
| @ NickKristof : Then the mob prevented me from talking to her, and she slipped away. It's #Mubarak thugocracy on #Tahrir. |
UN Head 'Strongly Condemns' Attacks
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "Any attack against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable and I strongly condemn it."
Crossing The Nile
Tweets Bassel Ibrahim:
 | @ ibrahba : @monaeltahawy Egyptians are crossing the Nile River by boats to help the protestors #Egypt |
'Pro-Mubarak Thugs Everywhere'
The New York Times' Nick Kristof tweets:
| @ NickKristof : Pro-Mubarak thugs everywhere have same talking points, same signs, same hostility to journalists. An organized crackdown. |
'War Zone'
An Al Jazeera correspondent says the last few hours have brought "very disturbing developments" and added that at least hundreds have been injured around Cairo's Tahrir Square, especially among the side streets.
"Tahrir Square looking like a war zone right now... a battle for the future," the correspondent added.
Video From The Protests
AP has this raw footage from the clashes:
Molotov Cocktail
Jonathan Rugman of Britain's Channel Four News reports:
 | @ jrug : Gunfire, molotov cocktail thrown in downtown Cairo |
Death Count At 52
From Peter Bouckaert, HRW emergencies director, in Alexandria:
We finally managed to visit all the morgues in the city of Alexandria and have a more complete death toll for last Friday's protests. There are four morgues in the city, but the bodies were sent to the two main morgues, at the University hospital and Kom el Deka hospital. At the University hospital, they had a total of 18 dead from the protests, and at Kom el Deka, they had a total of 34 dead. All were civilians from the protests. One was aphyxiated from tear gas, the others died from wounds received from rubber bullets, teargas, and live ammunition.So the total confirmed death count for last Friday in Alexandria now stands at 52, but could rise further. Just yesterday, several critically injured patients died from their wounds.
Now Playing On Egypt TV: Mubarak's Wife Gardening
The Washington Post offers a glimpse of how Egypt's state-run television station is covering the massive upheaval:
As portrayed on Egyptian state television, people across Egypt have been protesting in favor of President Hosni Mubarak, not against him. The country has been falling into chaos due to anti-government protests, and it is very important to know that the first lady preserves beautiful gardens in the republic.[...] On Al Masriya, a government-run channel, the images broadcast for most of the day were shown in split screen. On one side were a few hundred pro-Mubarak protestors waving his picture in the air and chanting in his support. On the other side was a picture of Tahrir Square, where anti-government protesters were gathered, but from such a distance that protesters could be seen only in the background.
Much more here.
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