CAIRO (AFP)— Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in several parts of Egypt on Tuesday facing a massive police presence as they demanded political and economic reform in a protest inspired by Tunisia's uprising.
In Cairo alone, a security official said 20,000 to 30,000 police had been mobilised in the city centre as protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court with large signs that read "Tunisia is the solution."
A security official said the area housing the interior ministry had been locked down.
Chanting "Down with (President Hosni) Mubarak," who has been in power for three decades, demonstrators broke through several police cordons and began marching towards Cairo's central Tahrir Square and down the Corniche along the nearby Nile, in scenes seldom witnessed in Egypt.
Groups gathered in other parts of the capital, witnesses said, as the numbers began to swell.
Hundreds gathered in the Delta city of Mansura, waving Egyptian flags and demanding more rights for Egyptians.
In the port city of Ismailiya, hundreds chanted anti-government slogans and warned other Arab leaders they would meet the same fate as former Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted by a popular uprising after 23 years in power.
"Zine El Abidine, who is coming next," they shouted.
In the north Sinai town of Al-Mahdia, near the Israeli border, hundreds demanded the release of political prisoners and an end to police heavy-handedness0.
The call was first launched by pro-democracy youth group the April 6 movement, to coincide with a national holiday to celebrate Police Day.
Among demands are the ouster of Interior Minster Habib al-Adly, whose police and security forces have been accused of heavy-handedness; the removal of the decades-old emergency law and a rise in minimum wages.
The interior ministry has warned that it would deal "firmly" with all those who behave illegally.
"The security is able to deal with any threat to the safety of its people, and will not take lightly any damage to property or breaches of the law," Habib al-Adly warned in an interview with the state-owned Al-Ahram daily.
The protests have been inspired by a wave of street riots in Tunisia that ended the rule of veteran strongman Ben Ali.
Amnesty International urged the authorities not to crack down on the protests.
"Egypt needs to allow peaceful protests, and stop arresting and intimidating peaceful opposition activists," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director for its Middle East and North Africa programme.
"The country?s security forces have a worrying record when dealing with demonstrators, and we urge them to refrain from excessive and disproportionate force tomorrow," said a statement on Monday.
In December, the self-immolation of 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi unleashed a wave of street riots across the North African country that culminated in the dramatic ouster of Ben Ali after 23 years in power.
Bouazizi's attempt to draw attention to economic hardship and repression sparked a series of copycat public torchings in Egypt, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
Tunisian grievances have been echoed throughout the Arab world, whose mainly autocratic leaders were unnerved by events in Tunisia.
The authorities have rejected the idea that the Tunisian scenario could spill over into Egypt.
But in a sign of anxiety over public discontent, they have recently tried to reassure the public that subsidies on basic commodities will remain in place.
Around 40 percent of Egypt's 80-million population live on around two dollars per day, and a large part of the population relies on subsidised goods.
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