Heavy police deployment in Cairo after protests

[January 26, 2011]  CAIRO (AP) -- Egyptian activists on Wednesday used social networking sites to call for a fresh wave of demonstrations, a day after they staged the biggest protests in years in Egypt to demand the end of President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule.

However, the Interior Ministry warned that police would not tolerate any gatherings, marches or protests, suggesting that security forces would immediately crackdown at the first sign of protesters gathering.

Thousands of riot police were deployed across the Egyptian capital on Wednesday in anticipation of fresh anti-government, Tunisia-inspired protests. A day earlier, tens of thousands demonstrated in Cairo and several other Egyptian cities to call for Mubarak's ouster and a solution to rampant poverty, rising prices and high unemployment.

Two protesters and a policeman were killed in Tuesday's protests and some 250 were wounded, including 85 policemen, when riot police used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters shortly after midnight. A third protester died later from his injuries.

Security officials said up to 200 protesters were detained in Cairo and elsewhere following the clashes. More people were likely to be detained as authorities review police video tapes of the protests, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Activists behind Tuesday's protests -- dubbed "day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption and unemployment" -- used the social networking site Facebook to rally supporters, and demonstrators used Twitter to spread the word of where to gather.

In a posting on Wednesday, the Facebook group helping organize the demonstrations called anew for protests, saying: "All of Egypt must move, at one time." It listed a number of spots in Cairo and around the country where demonstrators should gather.

Thousands of policemen in riot gear and backed by armored vehicles took up posts on bridges across the Nile, at major intersections and squares as well as outside key installations like the state TV building and the headquarters of Mubarak's ruling National democratic Party in central Cairo.

There were no signs of fresh protests in the capital through the early afternoon.

Tuesday's unrest led the Egyptian stock market to tumble by more than 5 percent on Wednesday, the first concrete sign that the demonstrations have impacted the country's economy. The Egyptian Exchange's benchmark EGX30 index was down almost 5.3 percent to 6,367.27 points by about 1:30 p.m. local time. The drop was the sharpest since May, when the index fell slightly over 6 percent, according to traders.

The protests were Egypt's biggest in years and are likely to fuel dissent in a presidential election year. Mubarak, 82, has yet to say whether he plans to run for another six-year term in office. He is thought to be grooming his son Gamal to succeed him, a prospect that is opposed by many Egyptians.

"Down with Hosni Mubarak, down with the tyrant," chanted the crowds in Cairo on Tuesday. "We don't want you!" they screamed. One sign carried by protesters on Tuesday said: "Gamal, take your dad and go."

[Associated Press; By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI]

Associated Press writers Maggie Michael and Tarek el-Tablawy contributed to this report.

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