Friend or foe? Egypt's army keeps protesters guessing
They arrived with a growing roar that the crowd felt before they saw them: two sharp, banking shapes sweeping so low over Cairo's Tahrir Square that the engine flames were visible.
It was a noise that made the demonstrators duck, a deafening wall of sound as two Egyptian air force F-16s buzzed the central Cairo square that has become the symbolic centre of opposition to the three-decades-long regime of President Hosni Mubarak.
For the first time the army swamped the streets with tanks, a squadron of them trying to push into the square, stopped by an at first angry crowd who sat down in front of them, fearing that the army – once seen as allies – might try to retake the square. The jets and helicopters making the deafening low sweeps over the crowd were an apparent attempt to intimidate the tens of thousands of protesters who had gathered for the sixth day running.
The assertion of authority by the military, who were initially welcomed by the crowds when armoured vehicles first appeared on the streets last Friday night, has become more complicated in the last 24 hours, with many saying they were becoming suspicious of where the army stood.
That uncertainty was underlined by a visit made by Mubarak to army chiefs, supposedly to "review" security in the country after persistent attacks by protesters on the interior ministry, seat of his police state.
What was abundantly clear was that after a night of gunfire and violence, where Cairo residents armed themselves against gangs of looters in their neighbourhoods, and thousands of prisoners escaped from the jails, Egypt awoke to the first indications that the army was moving to take control.
"First we trusted them, and now we don't trust them so much any more," said Mohamed Ali, 67, who was standing in front of the tanks.
Sherif Gaber, 43, the owner of a contracting company who had been in the square overnight, agreed. "They're trying to frighten people. The army are supposed to be our saviour," he said. "What are they doing here today?"
"This terrorism," said Ashraf Subayi, a 35-year-old physician. "Do you think something like this could happen in a European country? We will stay here, even if we have to die."
Suspicions about the army's motives were mixed with scenes of affection earlier in the day between soldiers and demonstrators, who allowed troops to use their mobile phones to call home or offered them cigarettes.
"I am glad they are continuing to protest. God willing, he (Mubarak) will go," said one air force captain in uniform.
One banner held by protesters summed up the military's dilemma: "The army must chose between Egypt and Mubarak."
As the sun set, however, the crowds swelled and protests were reinvigorated.
Mohamed ElBaradei – the Nobel peace laureate whom opposition movements want to lead a transitional government – addressed the crowd by megaphone, promising "change in the coming days" and demanding the unequivocal end of Mubarak's regime. "You have taken back your rights. What has been done cannot be undone. We are entering a new era."
ElBaradei's arrival in the square was largely met with approval by protesters, thousands of whom surged forward to try to hear his words. A few people were critical, yelling "This is our revolution, not yours" at the 68-year-old, but they were shouted down.
"The people are escalating their demands, calling for Mubarak to be put on trial," said Nour, the son of the prominent Egyptian dissident Ayman Nour. "There's a problem with some political figures and forces who are coming in late to these demonstrations, trying to ride the wave. But despite that, we're very optimistic. This display of social solidarity we're seeing – people cleaning the streets, feeding each other, protecting strangers – is unique, not only to Egypt but also to the rest of the world."
The events in the square had followed a no less extraordinary period the night before, where at the interior ministry protesters had fought pitched battles with riot police and state security officers, tossing fire bombs from roofs while the police responded with live rounds. There were fatalities.
But by morning there, too, the army was in control.
At 4.30am, 20 officers were seen leaving the building and burning their uniforms and 20 police vehicles fled in convoy at 7am.
Hassan Samir, 27, an antiques gallery owner whose apartment block overlooks the ministry, said: "They left at 7am in cars and vans, firing out of the windows. There had been snipers on the roof the night before. Since they left there has not been any more firing."
The consequences of the fighting were horribly visible in a small nearby mosque, which had been turned into a makeshift aid station for the dead and wounded.
It was little more than a narrow passage between two tall buildings, but it had been transformed into a hospital, with blood soaking through the prayer mats and the muezzin's microphone, normally used to send out the call to prayer, pressed into use by an imam shouting instructions to the medics. Occasionally he prayed.
Back in Tahrir Square yesterday evening, the presence of many other overtly pious Egyptians was being taken by some observers as an indication of a significant presence of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Hundreds of people performed the sunset prayers. Veiled women prayed separately.
A senior Brotherhood leader, Essam el-Erian, told Associated Press he was heading to the square to meet other opposition leaders.
Erian told an Egyptian TV station that the Brotherhood is ready to contact the army for a dialogue, calling the military "the protector of the nation".
This evening at least two jets roared over the Nile minutes before the start of the latest curfew. Alarms were set off in parked cars as the aircraft dropped lower every time over the square. Some protesters clapped and waved, others jeered.
At the same time, the police were reported to have started reasserting their presence, moving back into some Cairo neighbourhoods.
In contrast to the clashes of last week however, they appeared to be meeting jeers rather than physical confrontation.
Sauce :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/3...s-army-guessingMan, they sure can line up those Abrams.
Military Thread V6, Selamat Hari Raya dan Kemerdekaan ke-54 
Feb 2 2011, 02:11 AM
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