Cairo in Chaos: Protests in Egypt Grow Violent

For a great break down of what spurred the current political unrest in Egypt please click here for an article by Mother Jones Magazine.

Egyptians facing mass poverty, rampant corruption, and a largely autocratic government are revolting. On January 25th the streets of Egypt erupted with people protesting the current ruling party and Mubarak, who has been President for nearly 30 years. Despite opposition and political discontent, Mubarak, aged 82, has been grooming his son to take over his role as President of Egypt. The question of government corruption must be raised in the face of a "democratic" country who has had the same "President" for nearly three decades. When someone has ruled for that long it begins to become more a regime than a democracy.

Mubarak has not done much to quell the growing poverty in his country, and he has turned a blind eye to the pleas of his people.  Egypt ranks 138 of only 167 countries on The Economist Democracy Index which measures political freedom.  Tunisia, whose government was recently overturned following similar mass protests, ranked just seven spots beneath Egypt.

As the protests began the Associated Press released this video showing a fleeing protester being shot in the back by Egyptian police.  Immediately following the AP release of the video, the Egyptian government shut down all internet access across the country.  There are also reports of difficulty communicating using both cell phones and landlines.

Guardian reporter Jack Shenker was brutally beaten by police on Wednesday night. He recorded the incident and you can listen to it here.

"I am here today because I cannot afford to feed my family," Maha Egadi, a 50 year old accountant, tells a U.K reporter. "We have come because we want our freedom, and we want to stop corruption and theft by the government," he continues as his nose runs and his eyes water from the effects of tear gas.

Earlier today (after dark in Egypt) demonstrators set fire to NDP headquarters in Cairo.  The NDP is the current ruling party. Police instituted a curfew and the streets of the capital are engulfed in tear gas and smoke from various fires set by protesters.  There are continued reports that police are shooting protesters with live rounds, but these reports remain largely unconfirmed at this time.

Images of the protests are difficult to locate because of the government's communication blackout.  I was able to locate the following images:

Demonstrators gatheirng in Cairo on Wednesday night

Protester being arrested. Reports conflict, but an estimated 700-1000 demonstrators have been arrested.

A protester stands in front of a burning barricade in Cairo on January 28, 2011.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mohammed ElBaradei, who has long been a vocal leader for Egyptian democracy, returned to Egypt Thursday after a month long absence to support the protests. He and his supporters were attacked by police following Friday prayers.  He has been placed under house arrest.  This is the fourth day of protests.

You can watch a live video feed on the English Al Jezeera website.  I urge you to look at the video feed.  This is what happens when governments do not listen to their people.