Thousands battle police on Egypt's streets
Thousands of Egyptian protesters have joined protests to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, defying a government crackdown. Protesters have clashed with police in Cairo and broken through several police barriers.
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Protesters have gathered for a fourth day of anti-government rallies in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other Egyptian towns after Friday prayers, defying police who responded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets.
In Cairo, thousands of people poured onto the streets in several neighbourhoods of Cairo, chanting: "The people want the ousting of the regime."
The protests were chaotic, more so than on Tuesday, reports RFI correspondent Alexandre Buccianti.
"It's totally different, Tuesday was very symbolic with huge demonstrations, today you have the impression of a more chaotic process and it's very difficult to judge what is happening," Buccianti says.
Protesters were trying to break through police barriers around 6 October Bridge in an attempt to reach Tahrir Square, in the centre of the capital, Egytian website Al Masry Al Youm reports.
Police prevented Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei from leaving an area in Cairo and joining the protests, Al Jazeera TV reported.
At least seven people have died and close to 1,000 have been arrested in a crackdown on demonstrations.
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators. The clashes erupted after several thousands took to the street after Friday prayers.
A latest report from Al Masry Al Youm says that police were refusing orders to fire tear gas at protesters in Alexandria.
The port city is a a stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s banned but best-organised opposition movement, which came out in support of Friday’s protests.
Rallies were also reported in Suez, Mansoura and Sharqiya, witnesses said.
Authorities have cut mobile phone and Internet services in an attempt to stem the unrest. Social networks, such as Facebook, have so far played an important role in organising the anti-government protests.
Four French journalists reporting on the demonstrations were detained in Cairo, according to the French Foreign Ministry. A diplomatic source said those arrested were from Le Figaro and Journal du Dimanche newspapers, Sipa photo agency, and a freelance journalist working for Paris Match magazine.
Le Figaro later announced they had been freed.
Reporters without borders has condemned the arrests. The press freedom campaign reports that more than a dozen journalists have been arrested or beaten up over the last few days.
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