Police and protesters clashed in the capital and other parts of Egypt yesterday in a second day of rallies to demand the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, in the biggest protests of the president’s 30-year rule.
The interior ministry had banned all further demonstrations and promised a crackdown after thousands turned out last Tuesday, and security officials said some 700 people had been arrested over two days.
The White House called for the ban to be lifted.
Police used water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators in a main central Cairo thoroughfare. And they fired rubber bullets as 500-600 people took to the streets in the port city of Suez to demand Mr Mubarak’s ouster.
Dozens were arrested in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria as they tried to reach a sea front square to hold a second day of protests, witnesses said.
The one-sentence chant ringing out at every demonstration has summed up the demand from the street: “The people want the ouster of the regime.”
The interior ministry had said further demonstrations were banned and anyone taking part would be prosecuted.
“No provocative moves, or protest gatherings, or marches or demonstrations will be allowed,” the ministry said.
“Legal measures will be taken against anyone (in contravention), and they will be transferred to the prosecution,” a statement continued.
But members of the pro-democracy youth group April 6 Movement, the driving force behind the protests, said they would take to the streets regardless.
“We’ve started and we won’t stop,” one told AFP yesterday.
“Everyone needs to head down to Tahrir Square to take over the square once again,” the group said on its Facebook page which, along with people on Twitter, had helped to organise Tuesday’s protests.
The group also urged Egyptians to carry on protesting.
“To continue what we started on January 25, we will take to the streets to demand the right to life, liberty, dignity and we call on everyone to take to the streets... and to keep going until the demands of the Egyptian people have been met,” it said. Speaking about the protest ban, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said it was important for the Egyptian government to demonstrate “responsiveness” to its people.