Hundreds of anti-government protesters have returned to Cairo’s central Tahrir Square, chanting slogans against Hosni Mubarak just hours after the Egyptian president fired his Cabinet but refused to step down.
Protesters have overwhelmed the police forces in parts of Cairo and other cities around Egypt, and overnight the army replaced the police in guarding government buildings and other key areas.
Several tanks were parked in Tahrir Square, but soldiers did not intervene in the protest there.
Not far from the square, the army has sealed the road leading to the parliament and cabinet buildings.
Along the Nile, smoke was still billowing from the ruling party’s headquarters, which protesters set ablaze during Friday’s unrest.
The sight of protesters pouring into the square for a fifth day indicated Mubarak’s words in a televised speech shortly after midnight had done little to cool the anger over Egypt’s crushing poverty, unemployment and corruption.
Mobile phone services have been restored after a government-ordered communications blackout aimed at stopping the protests. Protesters have used text messaging and social networking websites to co-ordinate demonstrations.
Vodafone and Mobinil mobile phone services were working on Saturday morning, about 24 hours after they were cut. The internet service appeared to remain shut down.
Vodafone said that the Egyptian government had ordered all mobile telephone operators to suspend services “in selected areas” of the country.
The UK-based Vodafone Group is one of the largest mobile phone operators in Egypt, with more than 25 million subscribers.
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