Security forces shot dead a Bedouin protester in Egypt's Sinai region on Thursday, bringing the death in the three days of protests to five. Police in Suez fired rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators calling for an end to the 30-year-old rule of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president. Protesters chucked rocks and petrol bombs at police lines. In Ismailia, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, who dispersed the crowds with tear gas. Like in many other countries in the region, protesters in Egypt complain about surging prices, unemployment and the authorities' reliance on heavy-handed security to keep dissenting voices quiet. The protests are inspired by Tunisia, where a democratic movement recently overthrew the government.
Egyptian Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei announced on Thursday he was returning to Egypt to join the protests. "Tomorrow is going to be, I think, a major demonstration all over Egypt and I will be there with them," he said. Mr Baradei, who won the Nobel peace prize for his work as head of the UN's nuclear agency, called on Mr Mubarak to leave office, saying "he has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire."
His arrival could spur protesters who have no figurehead, although many activists resent his absences in recent months.
"Our government is a dictatorship. A total dictatorship," said Mohamed Fahim, a 29-year-old glass factory worker, as he stood near the charred skeleton of a car.
"It's our right to choose our government ourselves. We have been living 29 years, my whole life, without being able to choose a president."
On Wednesday evening, people in Suez had tried to burn down a government building, another police post and a local office of Egypt's ruling party before police stopped them. The government has said it intervened there against what it called 'vandalism'.
One policeman has been killed in Cairo in the anti-government protests, unprecedented during Mubarak's rule of a state that is a key US ally.
Al-Arabiya television reported that Egypt's general prosecutor had charged 40 protesters with trying to "overthrow the regime".
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif urged citizens to exercise self control on Friday, the cabinet spokesman told reporters.
A page on Facebook announcing Friday's protest gained 55,000 supporters in less than 24 hours and the call was then repeated by some opposition groups.
"Egypt's Muslims and Christians will go out to fight against corruption, unemployment and oppression and absence of freedom," wrote an activist on Facebook, which alongside sites like Twitter has been a key tools to rally people on to the streets.
