Shot in the head: The moment Egyptian police gunned down an unarmed protester for throwing a rock as riots continue into the night


  • At least 870 people injured in day of clashes in Egyptian capital  
  • State TV announces 6pm to 7am curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez
  • Mubarak asks army to help police deal with protests
  • Protester in Suez killed in clashes, say witnesses
  • Total blackout on internet access and text messaging services disrupted

A protester tumbles to the ground as he is gunned down by police revealing the brutal reaction of the Egyptian regime as it tries to contain the unrest that is spreading across the country.

Mohamed Atef, 22, died instantly from a shot to the head as he demonstrated in the town of Sheikh Zoweid in northern Sinai. His friends rushed to his side and took him to get medical help but it was too late.

The shooting came as police fought protesters in Suez and Ismailia, two cities straddling the Suez Canal that separates Sinai from the rest of Egypt.

Today thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police in Cairo, who fired rubber bullets into the crowds and used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.

At least 870 people were injured in the capital alone as the two sides fought throughout the day.      

Scroll down to see video of shooting

Man shot in Egypt protest
Man shot in Egypt protest

Mohamed Atef (circled, left) ducks as police begin to open fire and then runs to the other side of the road before tumbling to the ground after being shot in the head

Man shot in Egypt protest
Man shot in Egypt protest

The 22-year-old Bedouin lies on the deserted road before a friend pulls him up to drag him to safety

Man shot in Egypt protest

More of his friends rush to help and carry him away to get medical help. But it was too late, he was dead

 

It comes after the Egyptian government shut down access to the internet in the country in a bid to stamp out unrest and text messaging services were also partially disabled.

Activists have been relying on social networking services including Twitter and Facebook to organise the protests.

U.S.-based internet monitoring firm Renesys said the total shut-down earlier today was 'unprecedented in internet history'.

Chaos: An Egyptian protester walks past burning vehicles inside the premises of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in Cairo

Chaos: An Egyptian protester walks past burning vehicles inside the premises of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in Cairo

Riots: Anti-government protesters roam next to burning buildings and a police truck on fire in Corniche,  downtown Cairo

Riots: Anti-government protesters roam next to burning buildings and a police truck on fire in Corniche, downtown Cairo

It said: 'Renesys observed the virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the internet's global routing table.

'The Egyptian government's actions tonight have essentially wiped their country from the global map.'

Water cannons were used against pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei and his supporters as they joined the latest wave of protests after noon prayers.

Scroll down to see dramatic footage of clashes

A riot policeman fires tear gas at protestors in front of the l-Istiqama Mosque in Giza

A riot policeman runs forward to fire tear gas at protesters in front of the l-Istiqama Mosque in Giza this afternoon

Egyptian anti-riot policemen use water canons against protesters in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011.

Protesters are blasted with water cannon in the centre of the Egyptian capital

Enlarge   Locals run from tear gas fired by riot police in front of the l-Istiqama Mosque in Giza on January 28,

Clutching hankerchiefs to their faces and covering their eyes, the crowds run from the tear gas fired by security forces

Police also used batons to beat some of ElBaradei's supporters, who surrounded him to protect him.

A soaking wet ElBaradei was trapped inside a mosque nearly an hour after he and his supporters were drenched with water cannons.

Hundreds of riot police laid siege to the mosque, firing tear gas in the streets surrounding it so no one could leave. The tear gas canisters set several cars ablaze outside the mosque. Several people fainted and suffered burns.

Large groups of protesters, in the thousands, were gathered at at least six venues in Cairo, a city of about 18million people. They are demanding Mubarak's removal.

Television footage showed a chaotic and violent scene where protesters were throwing rocks down on police from a road overpass near Tahrir Square, while a police vehicle sped through the crowd spraying tear gas on demonstrators.

Mubarak and his government have shown no hint of concessions to the protesters who want political reform and a solution to rampant poverty, unemployment and rising food prices.

Egyptian demonstrators perform the Friday noon prayer in front of riot police during a demonstration in Cairo

Demonstrators perform the Friday noon prayer in front of riot police. Shortly afterwards the confrontations began

Egyptian Leading dissident and former UN nuclear watchdog Chief Mohamed ElBaradei is surround by fellow demonstrators

Water cannons were used against pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei (pictured today) and his supporters as they joined the latest wave of protests after noon prayers.


Riot police force protesters back across the Kasr Al Nile Bridge this afternoon as they attempt to get into Tahrir Square in the centre of the city

Riot police force protesters back across the Kasr Al Nile Bridge this afternoon as they attempt to get into Tahrir Square in the centre of the city

Police carry an injured colleague across the Kasr Al Nile Bridge after clashing with protesters

Police carry an injured colleague back across bridge after clashing with protesters

The internet appeared to remain cut off in Cairo but was restored in some smaller cities.

Mobile-phone text and Blackberry Messenger services were all cut or operating sporadically in what appeared to be a move by authorities to disrupt the organisation of demonstrations.

Egyptians outside the country were posting updates on Twitter after getting information in voice calls from people inside the country. Many urged their friends to keep up the flow of information over the phones.

A Facebook page run by protesters listed their demands.

They want Mubarak to declare that neither he nor his son will stand for next presidential elections; dissolve the parliament and hold new elections; end to emergency laws giving police extensive powers of arrest and detention; release all prisoners including protesters and those who have been in jail for years without charge or trial; and immediately fire the interior minister.

There were smaller protests in Assiut south of Cairo and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula. Regional television stations were reporting clashes between thousands of demonstrators and police in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Minya south of Cairo.

At the upmarket Mohandiseen district, at least 10,000 of people were marching toward the city centre chanting "down, down with Mubarak."

An Egyptian protester pours water on tear gas
An Egyptian protester kicks a tear gas canister during a protest in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011.

A female protester pours water on a tear gas canister while another kicks a canister away

Enlarge   Egyptian protesters flee as anti-riot police fire tear gas in Cairo, Egypt

Clouds of tear gas rise up as protesters back away after being charged by riot police

graphic showing protests in Egypt

The crowd later swelled to about 20,000 as they made their way through residential areas. Residents looking on from apartment block windows waved at them and whistled in support. Others waved the red, white and black Egyptian flags.

At Ramsis square in the heart of the city, thousands of protesters clashed with police as they left the al-Nur mosque after prayers.

Police used tear gas and rubber bullets and some of the tear gas was fired inside the mosque where women were taking refuge.

Clusters of riot police with helmets and shields were stationed around the city, at the entrances to bridges across the Nile and other key intersections.

An Egyptian anti-riot vehicle hits a protester in Cairo

An anti-riot vehicle knocks a protester out of its path in Cairo

Near the city's main Tahrir Square, hundreds of riot police clustered together and moved in, anticipating the arrival of a large crowd of protesters.

A short while later, thousands of protesters marched across a bridge over the Nile and moved toward the square, where police began firing tear gas into the crowds.

Internet and cell-phone services were disrupted across Egypt starting overnight and throughout the day as authorities used extreme measures to hamper protesters from organising the mass rallies called after Friday prayers.

Mubarak is Washington's closest Arab ally, but Washington has signalled that he no longer enjoys its full backing, publicly advising him to introduce reform and refrain from using violence against the protesters. He has not been seen publicly or heard from since the protests began on Tuesday.

Today's demonstrations were energised by the return of Nobel Peace prize winner ElBaradei on Thursday night, when he said he was ready to lead the opposition toward a regime change.

They also got a boost from the endorsement of the country's biggest opposition group, the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

Opposition: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak talks with President Barack Obama. The protesters are also angry about the government's intolerance of dissent

Opposition: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak talks with President Barack Obama. The protesters are also angry about the government's intolerance of dissent

Mubarak graphic

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