Egypt: Evacuations begin as protests worsen

Cairo: Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Egypt's major cities to demand change, prompting the government to deploy the army to deal with civil unrest for the first time in a generation. Protesters want an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.

Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei arrived in Cairo's Tahrir square Sunday to address protesters. Crowds swarmed around ElBaradei, who earlier called for President Hosni Mubarak to "leave today and save the country."

Egyptian F-16s circled low over defiant protesters gathering in the square. CNN's Ivan Watson said the fighter jets' "show de force" was "dramatic" and that he could see the planes' cockpits from the ground.

A body was found in front of the country's interior ministry Sunday morning, but there was no police presence nearby. Meanwhile, military tanks and hundreds of protesters were out on Cairo's Tahrir Square. No violence was spotted in that area.

Vandals ripped off the heads off two mummies and tossed relics onto the ground in Cairo's Egyptian Museum, said Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The vandals were arrested and jailed, Hawass said. The museum has stepped up security and is now guarded by Egypt's army, he said.

People who were trying to protect their property said they are worried about criminal gangs armed with samurai swords, clubs or rifles. Every time a motorcycle drove by, people rushed out to make sure such criminals didn't stop.

Ahmed Rehab of the Council of American Islamic Relations said police were absent on Cairo streets. "People are walking around with baseball bats and knives," Rehab said early Sunday. "We didn't get any sleep all night."

In Alexandria, the scene at hospitals was chaotic. The facilities were short-staffed, and injured protesters said they were not being treated quickly enough.

At least 31 people have been killed in protests in Alexandria, hospital authorities told CNN Saturday. Earlier, the state-run Nile TV earlier reported that at least 38 people died in the country's unrest. It was unclear whether the Alexandria deaths were part of that toll.

At least two people were injured when security forces opened fire on protesters near Egypt's interior ministry in Cairo.

At least five people have died from gunshot wounds near the interior ministry, according to a physician at a triage center in a Cairo mosque.

Cell phone service was apparently restored Saturday morning -- a day after the internet went dark in many parts of the country and some text messaging and cell phone services were apparently blocked amid calls for intensified protests.

Protesters' interactions with Egypt's military -- members of an army that is widely respected in Egypt -- were far more friendly than their interactions with police. In Cairo and Alexandria, many protesters greeted troops with cheers.

At least 2,000 protesters gathered in Raml Square in Alexandria on Saturday. There was no sign of police, and protests appeared peaceful. Protesters smiled and shook hands with troops patrolling the area.

The headquarters of Egypt's ruling party was burned in Cairo on Friday, with onlookers and demonstrators gathering outside and some ransacking the building, reports CNN's Ben Wedeman.

Riot police used tear gas to disperse tens of thousand of protesters in the Egyptian cities of Suez, Alexandria and Cairo on Friday. Riot police on Friday cracked down on protesters in the cities and towns of Ismailia, Fayoum and Shbin Elkoum, according to protest group Egyptian Liberation.

Mubarak issued a presidential decision appointing Gen Gamal Embaba, an army division commander, governor of El Wadi el Jadid, state-run Nile TV reported.

The Mubarak government has officially resigned, state-run Nile TV reported. Egypt's ruling party has accepted the resignation of Ahmed Ezz, who was one of its senior leaders and a close confidant of Mubarak's son, according to state-run Nile TV.

Ahmed Shafik, a minister from the recently resigned Cabinet, has been appointed to form a new government, state TV reported. Omar Suleiman, who has served as Egypt's head of intelligence, has been appointed presidential deputy to Mubarak, state TV reported.

Mubarak said in a speech Saturday morning that he asked the members of his government to resign so that he can form a new government, under his direction.

The Egyptian leader, who has been president for 30 years, said, "We have to be careful of anything that would allow chaos." He said his primary goal was to protect Egypt's security, and he criticized looters and those who had set fires.

Mubarak, 82, said he heard from demonstrators who wanted more job opportunities and lower prices on key goods. According to a translation, he said, "I know all these things ... that the people are asking about it. I've never been separated from it, and I work for it every day."

A senior US State Department official said Mubarak "was not particularly forthcoming" in his speech, made shortly after midnight Saturday in the North African nation. "Our initial impression is that he emphasized security far more than reform," said the official, who wasn't authorized to speak on the record.

ElBaradei was placed under house arrest, a high-level security source said.

Several officials were killed at a prison in southwest Cairo when about 1,000 inmates escaped, state TV reported Sunday. Nile TV did not say how many officials died, but said at least one was fatally shot by prisoners.

Cairo residents have described accounts of lawlessness after police withdrew from the streets. Reports surfaced of looting and residents appealing to authorities for protection.

Despite the curfew, groups of young people, wielding machetes and iron bars, were stalking the near-deserted streets of Alexandria, CNN's Nic Robertson said in a message on Twitter on Sunday.

CNN photojournalist Mary Rogers saw businesses looted in a downtown Cairo mall. She saw fast-food restaurants, KFC and Hardee's, smashed and looted. People were carrying items from the mall.

In Sudan, about 100 protesters at a university in Khartoum chanted, "No to high prices, no to corruption" and "Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan together as one."

Al Jazeera "strongly denounces" the closure of its Cairo bureau by the Egyptian government, the news network said in a statement on Sunday.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the ABC program "This Week" on Sunday that "there is no discussion right now about cutting off aid" to Egypt.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Britain's Sky News that reform would be "preferable to Egypt falling into the hands of extremism."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during his weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday that peace between Israel and Egypt has endured for over three decades. He added that "at this time, we must show maximum responsibility, restraint and sagacity and, to this end, I have instructed my fellow ministers to refrain from commenting on this issue."

US President Barack Obama said he talked by phone with Mubarak on Friday

shortly after the Egyptian president made a televised speech.

Obama called upon Egyptian authorities to "refrain from any violence against any peaceful protesters." He also said that those on the streets "have a responsibility to express themselves peacefully."

The United States will review its aid to Egypt based on what is happening, according to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. He said authorities in Cairo bear responsibility for what's happening, "regardless of the role they have played internationally or regionally over the ... years."

The spokesman added that US government officials are "deeply concerned about the images and the events that we see in Egypt," describing a "very fluid situation" that is being closely monitored in Washington.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Egyptian authorities to respect human rights. It said the government had arrested more than 1,000 people, including political opponents.

The US Embassy in Cairo will assist American citizens who want to leave Egypt, an embassy spokeswoman said. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton said flights will depart from Cairo on Monday.

Turkey sent two planes to Egypt on Sunday to begin evacuation of its citizens, according to the country's semi-official Anatolia news agency and foreign ministry spokesman.

In Saudi Arabia, the turmoil in Egypt rattled investors as the nation's stock market lost more than 6 per cent of its value on Saturday.

The Hamas-controlled interior ministry in Gaza said the security situation along the Gaza border with Egypt was calm despite local media reports of fighting between Egyptian Bedouins and Egyptian military along the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt.

American Airlines and British Airways will allow customers with tickets between January 28 and 31 to or from Cairo's airport to change their flights at no charge, according to an e-mail from American Airlines spokesman Edward Martelle. Earlier, Delta Airlines announced that it will suspend flights to and from Egypt indefinitely after Saturday. Emirates and Etihad airways say they will continue to fly Egyptian routes as scheduled.

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