Egyptian protests – timeline for the weekend’s events

From the cabinet meeting to formally submit its resignation to security forces announcing the extension of the curfew Saturday’s events 10.42am Overnight, President Mubarak makes his first appearance to announce that he is sacking his cabinet. Protesters throw stones as riot police try to enter Tahrir square in central Cairo. Egypt’s cabinet meets to formally submit its resignation. 11.51am Egyptian state television announces that the curfews imposed in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez have been extended to run from 4pm (2pm GMT) to 8am (6am GMT). 12.18pm The armed forces close the pyramids, with tanks and armoured personnel carriers sealing off the normally packed site on the Giza plateau to tourists. Reuters says the country’s stockmarket will be closed tomorrow. The move comes after sharp falls over the last few days. 12.29pm King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia backs Mubarak. ‘he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia … declares it stands with all its resources with the government of Egypt and its people,’ he is quoted as saying. 1.13pm The Foreign Office says that around 30,000 British tourists are in Egypt. While it wasn’t advising Britons to leave, it said they should not take part in the protests and should abide by the curfews.The department is advising against all but essential travel to the cities of Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez. 2.01pm AP reports peaceful protests in Tahrir Square with few police in the crowds, soon followed by news of police opening fire near the interior ministry. A number of people are wounded by gunshots. 2.15pm Egyptian state television reports that looters have broken into the Egyptian Museum and destroyed two ancient mummies. Demonstrators form a human chain around army tanks in Tahrir Square as they help to protect the museum. 2.23pm Thousands of people continue to protest after the start of the extended curfew. Defying an army warning that anyone violating the order would be in danger, crowds throng in central Cairo and Alexandria. 3.22pm : Police in Cairo are firing live rounds at protesters , according to Jack Shenker. He says there’s still confusion over the military’s role. Outside the ministry he saw a tank roll in to cheers from protesters. But it then appeared to move into a holding position, prompting some protesters to throw rocks at it. Other demonstrators tried to stop them. 3.30pm AP reports that at least three demonstrators have been killed around the area of Tahrir Square after thousands tried to storm the interior ministry. The news agency now puts the death toll at 48 4.23pm Former air force commander Ahmed Shafiq is appointed prime minister . Egypt’s intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, is now vice-president – the first to hold this office since Mubarak took power in 1981. 4.25pm Reuters reports on the deployment of army vehicles to protect wealthy areas of Cairo’s suburbs. Witnesses say the action was taken after they heard gunshots and accounts of looting. 5.58pm Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, says he went to the morgue at the Alexandria general hospital, where he saw 13 bodies. He says an Egyptian lawyer counted 20 bodies at another Alexandria morgue. An hour later, al-Jazeera reports more than 100 people have died in the protests in the past 24 hours – including 25 in Cairo, 38 in Suez and 36 in Alexandria. AP puts the toll at 62 over the last two days. 7.04pm : Various news sources report that the curfew has been broken in Alexandria and Cairo , and that looting is now a major concern. 7.55pm In a joint statement with Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, David Cameron says: ‘The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future … We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformationreflected in broad-based government and free elections.’ 8.10pm : AFP reports 12 dead in fighting between demonstrators and police in Beni Suef, 100km south of Cairo. 9.29pm al-Jazeera reports the arrest of gangs in Alexandria, and 9.46pm Reuters reports that police have shot dead 17 people who were trying to attack two police stations in Beni Suef governorate . Dozens of others were injured in the exchanges. 10.58pm As protests continue across Egypt, both AP and al-Jazeera report that 19 private jets carrying the families of wealthy businessmen have departed Cairo for

Posted by on January 30, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry