Dozens of reporters beaten, arrested in Egypt

Egypt Protests

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Dozens of reporters beaten, arrested

Associated Press

CAIRO

Menacing gangs backing President Hosni Mubarak attacked journalists and human-rights activists Thursday in an ugly turn in Egypt’s crisis as government opponents pushed supporters out of Cairo’s main square in a second day of battles. Organizers called for protesters trying to topple the regime to fill every square in the huge capital today.

The new vice president, widely considered the first successor Mubarak has ever designated, fueled anti- foreign sentiment by going on state television and blaming outsiders for fomenting unrest. The government has accused media outlets of being sympathetic to protesters who want the president to quit now rather than serve out his term, as he has vowed to do.

Mubarak, 82, told ABC television in an interview that he was fed up and wants to resign. But he said he can’t for fear the country would sink into chaos. He said he was very unhappy about the two days of clashes in central Tahrir Square.

“I do not want to see Egyptians fighting each other,” he was quoted as saying.

The violence that had been concentrated in Tahrir spread around the city of 18 million, with a new wave of arson and looting.

Soldiers, mainly protecting government buildings and important institutions, remained passive as they have since replacing police on the streets almost a week ago. Few uniformed police have been seen around the city in that time, and protesters allege some of them have stripped off their uniforms and mixed in with the gangs of marauding thugs.

“When there are demonstrations of this size, there will be foreigners who come and take advantage, and they have an agenda to raise the energy of the protesters,” Vice President Omar Suleiman said on state television.

Pro-government mobs beat foreign journalists with sticks and fists Thursday. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 24 reporters were detained in 24 hours, including representatives of The Washington Post and The New York Times. Twenty-one journalists were assaulted, including two with Fox News.

One Greek journalist was stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver, and a photographer was punched in the face, his equipment smashed. The Arabic news network Al-Arabiya pleaded for the army to protect its offices and journalists, and Al-Jazeera said four of its correspondents were attacked.