EGYPT’S revolution was on a knife edge tonight — after a military show of force that saw warplanes dramatically screech over rebels in riot-torn Cairo.
Two US-built F-16s flew down the Nile to repeatedly “buzz” the capital’s Liberation Square — where 10,000 protesters defied hated president Hosni Mubarak’s curfew.
Demonstrators convinced the tyrant was trying to scare them as he clung to power shook their fists at the jets. One called Issam, 40, snarled: “Mubarak is desperate like a cornered rat. What will he do next — bomb us?”
Looters at Cairo’s central Egyptian museum smashed a statue of Tutankhamun before being nabbed fleeing with two mummy skulls. Curators branded them “criminals — not true Egyptians”.
Egyptologists elsewhere reported “immense damage” as tombs were ransacked. Mobs were “digging day and night, everywhere”.
Amid confusion as Liberation Square was buzzed, someCHEERED — claiming the jets and helicopter gunships that arrived were there to back them.
Earlier in the day soldiers rolled into the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in a bid to protect tourist areas as armed militias formed in the capital after cops DESERTEDthe streets.
The death toll on a sixth day of anti-government demonstrations has reached more than 100 – while 30,000 Brits remain in the country and thousands of inmates have broken out of prisons.
Most Britons are in Red Sea resorts which have so far remained calm – but this afternoon it emerged hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh had been barricaded in case of unrest as troops moved in to protect them.
Embattled President Mubarak has reportedly fled there to escape the carnage in Cairo. The Foreign Office has already advised Brits to abide by a 4pm curfew.
Just as the security situation worsened last night prisons nationwide were emptied of thousands of inmates today after bloody battles with guards – including 34 members of Egypt’s main opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Dozens of bodies are lying on a road near a prison east of the city, according to security sources.
Egypt’s leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei, a former UN nuclear inspector, joined mass protests in Cairo adding to the pressure on hated President Hosni Mubarak to quit.
He defiantly told the masses “change is coming in the next few days”.
Foreign secretary William Hague has warned the country it faces falling into the hands of extremists if the President does not push ahead with a democratic “transformation”.
Protests against his regime are in their SIXTH day today. He sacked his cabinet on Friday and vowed to form a new government, appointing his intelligence chief as vice-president the following day.
But the Egyptian people – encouraged by regime change after similar protests in Tunisia – have continued their struggle in the face of tough tactics from the country’s security forces after he refused to go.
Many protesters reiterated the fact they want the complete removal of Mubarak’s administration today. They blame him for the country’s poverty, unemployment, widespread corruption and police brutality.
Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League, called for a multi-party democracy to replace his regime.
“If the president leaves today, chaos will be over,” said schoolteacher Hussein Riyad.
“People have been suffering for 30 years, a few days of horror don’t matter.”
At Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo, where Riyad and tens of thousands of other protesters were marching, two military armoured vehicles blocked the entrance where soldiers worked alongside civilian protestersto check IDs and bags for weapons.They were also attempting to keep out plain-clothed police officers.
“The army is protecting us, they won’t let police infiltrators sneak in!” one volunteer shouted.
PM David Cameron spoke to the Egyptian premier last night by phone and urged him to listen to his people, fed up after three decades of authoritarian government.
Meanwhile looters and criminals have been taking full advantage of the chaos. Thousands of inmates escaped prisons across the country today – including one jail that housed Muslim militants north-west of the capital.
Security officials said the prisoners escaped overnight from four jails after starting fires and clashing with guards.
The inmates were helped by gangs of armed men who attacked the prisons, firing at guards in gun battles that lasted for hours.
No explanation has been given for why police officers have vanished but their absence has only encouraged looting and arson overnight. Security sources said officers would return to the streets tomorrow.
Ten policemen are believed to be among those killed.
The vacuum left behind by missing cops has been filled by ordinary people forming teams of neighbourhood protection groups armed with firearms, sticks and clubs.
They have set up self-styled checkpoints and barricades using bricks and metal traffic barriers to ward off looting gangs roaming the city.
Witnesses said police shot dead 17 people last night as they tried to attack two police stations in the Beni Suef governorate, south of Cairo.
Mr Hague urged President Mubarak, 82, to do what was necessary to end the crisis.
He said: “It is important for him to initiate that transformation and that broadly based government, and that is what we would like to see.
“That is far preferable of course to Egypt falling into the hands of extremism or a more authoritarian system of government.”
Tens of thousands of protestors remained on the streets last night, defying a 4pm to 8am curfew, as Mr Cameron expressed his “grave concern” in a telephone conversation with the president.
The PM urged Mr Mubarak to “take bold steps to accelerate political reform and build democratic legitimacy” rather than oppress his opponents.
In a joint statement with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Cameron said: “The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future.
“We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections.”
Protesters returned to the streets yesterday, pouring into Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square where they clashed with riot cops and threw stones while shouting “go away, go away”.
Tanks had been stationed around Cairo to protect public buildings. Egypt’s pyramids were closed to the public.
Foreigners have been flocking to Cairo’s main airport to get on flights out of the country.
Britons have been advised against all but essential travel to the capital and three other key cities.
The US has advised its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible.
Thousands of anti-government protesters clashed with police in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria again yesterday where there are reports cops used teargas and live ammunition.
The cities of Alexandria, Mansoura, Rafah and Suez – where a police station was torched – have also seen violence.
Cairo’s National Democratic Party HQ was set alight and protesters stormed the state television building.
