Egypt News— The Protests

Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, erupted in mass protests on Jan. 25, 2011, as the revolution in  Tunisia earlier in the month seemed to inflame decades worth of smoldering grievances against decades of heavy-handed rule by President  Hosni Mubarak. The conflict intensified after Mr. Mubarak said he would not seek reelection but refused to step down, and armed pro-government protesters attacked anti-Mubarak crowds. More than 150 people are estimated to have died in Egypt since the turmoil began, according to human rights groups.

Today, Feb. 4

* Cracks in the establishment’s support for Mr. Mubarak appeared when jubilant crowds remained in Tahrir Square and demanded his ouster, unmolested by either security police or uniformed Mubarak loyalists. Amr Moussa, easily Egypt’s most popular politician, was cheered when he visited the square.
* The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for Mr. Mubarak to resign immediately and turn over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military.
* Nine days after a diverse band of protesters mobilized on the Internet and gathered by the thousands in Tahrir Square, their campaign seems to have survived, improbably, without a recognized cadre at the top giving orders.
* After maintaining a low profile in protests led largely by secular young Egyptians, the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition force, appeared to be taking a more assertive role, issuing a statement asking for President Hosni Mubarak to step aside for a transitional government.
* Interactive Interactive Feature: A Closer Look at the Unrest in Cairo

Feb. 3

* Clashes between government supporters and opponents continued for a second day, as the government broadened its crackdown to the international media and human rights workers, in an apparent effort to remove witnesses to the battle with anti-government protesters. By the afternoon, the fighting spread beyond the square to the October 6th Bridge, which rises above the Egyptian Museum. At least five more people were said to have died.
* After maintaining a low profile, the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition force, appeared to be taking on a more assertive role, calling for Mr. Mubarak to make way for a transitional government.
* As the diplomatic crisis in Egypt has intensified, the potential Republican candidates and the party’s leaders in Congress have, with only a few exceptions, had little to say.
* Graphic: Battle for Tahrir Square

Feb. 2

* Waves of pro-government provocateurs armed with clubs, stones and knives fought their way into and around Tahrir Square in a concerted effort to rout the protesters. After first trying to respond peacefully, the protesters fought back with rocks and Molotov cocktails as battles broke out around the square. The military stood by, restricting itself mostly to guarding the Egyptian Museum and using water cannons to extinguish flames stoked by the firebombs. At least five people are thought to have died in the fighting, and 800 were wounded.
* After days of delicate public and private diplomacy, the United States openly broke with its most stalwart ally in the Arab world, as the Obama administration strongly condemned violence by allies of Mr. Mubarak and called on him to speed up his exit from power.
* With neighboring Egypt and other parts of the region in upheaval, the prospect of the Israeli government’s making peace with the Palestinians, already distant, receded further.
* This week, Frank G. Wisner, whose stints around the globe have included four ambassadorships, one of them to Egypt, was briefly President Obama’s man in Cairo, charged with prodding an old friend, President Hosni Mubarak, to make his exit.
* Video TimesCast | February 2, 2011
* Video On the Ground After Mubarak’s Speech
* Video Meeting Mubarak’s Supporters
* Video Protesters Clash in Tahrir Square

Feb. 1

* The largest outpouring of protesters yet. The scene rivaled some of the most epic moments in Egypt’s tumultuous modern history. In the evening, Mr. Mubarak went on television to announce that he would not run for another term as president of Egypt. His decision came after President Obama urged the embattled president not run in the fall elections, effectively withdrawing American support for its closest Arab ally.
* But Mr. Mubarak’s concession was rejected as insufficient by demonstrators, and Mr. Obama also strongly suggested that it was not enough, declaring that an “orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.”
* Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, brimming with confidence after days of protest, traveled like pilgrims to gather at Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, to speak freely and to be heard.
* In Washington, the Obama administration struggled to balance its ties to Mr. Mubarak, its most stalwart ally in the Arab world, with its fear of ending up on the wrong side of history.