Throngs Gather for 'Million-Man' March

Pockets of protesters form elsewhere.
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2011 6:57 AM CST
Updated Feb 1, 2011 7:56 AM CST
Throngs Gather for 'Million-Man' March
The crowd gathers in Tahrir, or Liberation, Square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011.   (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Cairo's “march of a million” looks like it's living up to its billing, reports al-Jazeera, with something along those lines gathered in Tahrir Square to call for Hosni Mubarak’s departure. A second "million-strong" demonstration is also scheduled in Alexandria, and in there have been “increasingly large pockets of pro-government protests” elsewhere, according to one of the network's correspondents. She also reports that “thugs in certain parts of the city have been trying to stop people from driving into Cairo.”

The army has promised not to interfere with peaceful demonstrations, but tanks are standing by near Tahrir Square, and soldiers have formed a human chain around the demonstration, checking everyone who arrives for weapons and identity papers. "I think today there will be great numbers on the street," says one protester. "Every day there are more numbers on the street than the day before. I think the protests are gaining momentum. The people ... will literally not leave until Mubarak steps down." (More Egypt protests stories.)

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