Protest against Prez; Egyptians, journos detained

Cairo, Jan 27: Hundreds of Egyptian protesters, including journalists, have been arrested in two days of Tunisia-inspired unprecedented mass protests against President Hosni Mubarak''s autocratic regime that left at least six people dead.

Egypt witnessed a second ''day of anger'' against the 30-year-rule of Mubarak on Jan 26 as thousands of protesters took to streets, shouting slogans like ''Down with Hosni Mubarak, down with the tyrant," "We don''t want you!"

Downtown Cairo saw thousands of security personnel chase anti-government protesters as they tried to reassemble at Tahrir Square, the same place where more than 20,000 demonstrators converged on Tuesday, Jan 25 occupying it for several hours before being dispersed by security forces early Wednesday.

At some places, security forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets, and demonstrators threw stones in response.

Two persons -- a protester and a policeman -- were killed yesterday, bringing to six the death toll in the two-day protests, media reports said.

Hundreds of protesters, including eight journalists, have been arrested and several injured during the protests, Al-Ahram newspaper reported today.

There had been brief attempts by protesters to gather outside the High Court here also. However, they were quickly dispersed.

The number of defiant demonstrators in Cairo was believed to be around 3,000 and they used the journalists'' union as a launch pad for yesterday''s protests.

The protesters burnt tyres in the middle of some main streets in Cairo to keep security vehicles at bay and pelted stones at public buildings and attempted to break into them.

PTI