January Timeline
24 January, Monday
The Egyptian government urged business to stay closed on the 25th due to Police Day and the protests planned by anti-government activists.
25 January, Tuesday
The 25th of January was considered Police Day, a day in Egypt where Egyptians celebrate and remember when the police and the citizens united in protest against the British in 1952. Protesters, however, declared it “The Day of Anger.”
Protests began in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Asuit, Al Arish, the Suez, Qena, North Sinai, Mahalla, Ismailia , Port Said and Aswan, many of them ahead of schedule. Men, women and children all were involved in the protests, and numerous people were photographing and filming the protests and posting them online. The people tore down the posters of Mubarak and his son, began sit-ins and hackers began attacking government websites.
Hillary Clinton issued a press statement claiming that the Egyptian government was stable and that government officials were willing to listen to the Egyptian people.
Cairo protesters moved to Tahrir square and Security forces blocked the entrances and exits to Cairo.
26 January, Wednesday
Security forces fired tear gas into Tahrir Square after besieging it, and by the early morning of the 26th (1:28 AM) Tahrir Square had been cleared. Mny protesters were arrested and taken to unknown locations.
Jack Shenker, the Guardian’s reporter in Cairo, was arrested and beaten by Egyptian police, who confiscated his wallet and phone but not his dictaphone. He made this remarkable recording while locked in the back of a security forces van.
The White House issued a press statement in response to the growing protests and the Egyptian government’s response to the protests.
Protests in the Suez became violent as security forces killed two protesters, and protesters killed a police officer. The government imposed a curfew in the Suez, however the army was not deployed.
In an effort to cripple one of the protesters’ main organizing tools and to restrict the flow of information to state controlled media, the government began to shut down Internet and mobile services.
27 January, Thursday
The Egyptian government continued to keep internet services down, however some Egyptians overcame this obstacle by using servers.
Mohamed ElBaradei returned to Cairo and many people rallied to him.
Police forces began using live amunition and tear gas grenades to quell the protests in the Suez, and the protesters respond with violence. Seven people were killed.
In Cairo, protesters marched near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where one protester and one policeman were killed.
Hundreds protested in Ismailia
28 January, Friday
Labeled the, “Friday of Rage,” protests resumed after Friday prayer.
The Government placed Mohamed ElBaradei under house arrest in an effort to quell the protests.
President Hosni Mubarak made an address to the nation, pledging to form a new government.
Security forces began arresting and attacking protesters, and using tear gas and water cannons to quell the protests. In hopes of stopping the spread of protests, the government blocked twitter and other social networking sites but Egyptians found a way around the block through services like hootsuite and other proxies.
Clashes broke out in Tahrir Square between revolutionaries and pro-Mubarak demonstrators, leading to the injury of several and the death of some. The military was deployed, but they did not interfere with protesters.
In the Suez, 11 citizens were killed and 170 were injured in the protests. Across the nation, some 1,030 people were injured.
29 January, Saturday
Curfew was imposed, but the protests continued.
Mubarak anounced that he had sacked the cabinet, and appointed a vice president, Omar Suleiman.
Egyptians in NYC protested in front of the UN in a show of solidarity for the protesters in Egypt.
The Military guarded the Egyptian Museum from looters.
30 January, Sunday
Security forces reported mass prison breakouts across the country.
Union leaders, including Kamal Abbas and Kamal Abu Eita, announced the support of the labor organizations for the revolution.
Mohamed ElBaradei addresses the protesters in Tahrir
Jets were ordered to fly above Cairo and in particular Tahrir as a show of force and to intimidate the protesters.
The Muslim Brotherhood stayed silent on the topic of religion during the protests, however its spokesman, Essam El-Eryan stated that the organization supported a plan for ElBaradei to speak with Mubarak’s government on behalf of the people.
A meeting convened in Tahrir Square led to the formation of the Federation of Independent Egyptian Trade Unions, in hopes of breaking state control of the unions. Signing the declaration were representatives of RETA,Retired Workers’ Union,Health Professionals Union and the Teachers’ Independent Union.
31 January, Monday
There was a large protest in Alexandria and protests continued in Cairo.
The Israeli prime minister urged Western countries to support Mubarak’s regime for fear of a radical Islamic state in Egypt, and gave permission for two Egyptian battalions to enter the Sinai to deal with dissidents for the first time since the peninsula was demilitarized by treaty in 1979.
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