Protests jam Cairo
Thousands of anti-government protesters broke through a police cordon in Cairo to join hundreds more demonstrators in Cairo today.
The demonstration calling for an end to Hosni Mubarak’s government was the biggest Egypt has seen in years.
Police showed unusual restraint in what appeared to be a concerted effort by the government not to provoke a Tunisia-like mass revolt.
The demonstrators chanted, “Long Live a Free Tunisia” and “Down with Hosni Mubarak.”
Hundreds of protesters also gathered in Alexandria and other cities.
The call for today’s rallies spread on Facebook and Twitter, with 90,000 saying they would attend.
Central Cairo came to a standstill and there was a massive security presence.
