CAIRO, Feb 5: Revolution protests in troubled Egypt continue to rage for 12th consecutive day with millions of demonstrators marching on several cities in the North African country, urging President Hosni Mubarak to cede power.
Egyptians woke up to another day of rage against the embattled president and his regime's crackdown on protesters on Saturday as thousands of people defied a curfew in Alexandria and chanted slogans, demanding nothing but the ouster of Mubarak, a Press TV correspondent reported.
On Friday, millions of Egyptians marched in the capital, Cairo, and prayed for an immediate end to Mubarak's 30-year reign.
The massive demonstrations were held throughout the night and dragged into early Saturday as protesters converged in Cairo's Liberation Square, which has become the focal point of massive demonstrations, protesters stated that they would not budge an inch in the face of the government's repressive measures.
"Mubarak must go, Mubarak must go," a protester shouted over a loudspeaker after brief burst of heavy gunfire echoed across the square early on Saturday.
The fresh flurry of fury against the 82-year-old Mubarak comes as the death of an Egyptian journalist, who was working for the al-Ta'awun newspaper, has sent a shudder across the cities of the country.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists stated on Thursday that it had recorded 24 detentions of journalists, 21 assaults and five cases of confiscation of equipment for over a 24-hour period amid Egypt's ongoing political crisis.
According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured during nationwide revolution protests in troubled Egypt.
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the recent developments in North Africa are the result of the "Islamic awakening, which followed the great [Islamic] Revolution of the Iranian nation."
The Leader also described Mubarak as the "lackey of the Zionist regime [of Israel]."
Meanwhile, in an interview with ABC on Thursday, Mubarak said he was getting weary of being president and wanted to abandon power, but fears his resignation would unleash a fresh wave of upheaval in the country.
"I am fed up. After 62 years in public service, I have had enough. I want to go," said Mubarak. "If I resign today, there will be chaos."
US President Barack Obama's administration has offered a proposal for beleaguered Mubarak to step down right away in order to pave the way for the formation of a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military.
The proposal urges Mubarak to invite members from a variety of opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to commence a process of constitutional reform in an effort to lay the groundwork for holding a free and fair presidential election in September.
http://en.harakahdaily.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2220:protesters-hold-their-ground-on-day-12&catid=37:world&Itemid=59
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