Chaos erupts in Cairo

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Western media appears in agreement that the Mubarak government has recruited paid thugs and undercover security forces to attack pro-democracy protestors in an attempt to take back control of Tahrir Square in Cairo. The consensus is that these are the same thugs used by the Mubarak government in the past to rig elections and to intimidate Egyptian citizens.

You can watch the clashes in Tahrir Square on Al-Jazeera English's live feed here or the BBC's live feed here. CNN and MSNBC are also carrying live coverage.

Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times reported that "In my part of Tahrir, pro-#Mubarak mobs arrived in buses, armed with machetes, straight-razors and clubs, very menacing."

Al-Jazeera reports that their correspondents have been shown police IDs taken from the pro-Mubarak protesters in Tahrir Square.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper reports that he and his crew were attacked by pro-Mubarak forces in Tahrir Square. They reportedly tried to take and destroy their TV cameras. Lester Holt of NBC News mattter-of-factly just reported that journalists are being targeted and attacked by pro-Mubarak forces.

Mubarak's forces and pro-democracy protestors have been engaged in a pitched battle all day for control of Tahrir Square, mostly using bricks, rocks, bottles, clubs and sticks. Some tear gas has been used. Clashes Erupt in Cairo Between Mubarak’s Allies and Foes – NYTimes.com. Molotov cocktails have been thrown in the square from rooftops.

The Mubarak forces were aided by mounted men on horseback and camels in their attack on pro-democracy protestors. CNN video of Mubarak supporters charging into Tahrir Square on horseback:

CNN is reporting that pro-democracy protestors in Tahrir Square have been surrounded by Mubarak's forces and their exits to leave the square have been cut off. So far, the Egyptian military has not intervened in the chaos. The military previously said it would not fire on Egyptian citizens. 

Should Mubarak order the military to move on protestors, there is the potential for another Tiananmen Square like disaster. The same is true if the military stands by and allows Mubarak's security forces to attack the pro-democracy protestors trapped in Tahrir Square.

The whole world is watching.

UPDATE: CNN and MSNBC report that state television is ordering protestors to leave Tahrir Square and that the government is preparing to "secure" the square. This is going to end badly.