Two million Egyptians converge in Cairo

Egyptian demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square, in central Cairo, on January 31, 2011, on the seventh day of protests against long term President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Up to two million protesters converge in the center of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, as a “million man march” continues across Egypt to mark a week since the beginning of the popular uprising.

Protest organizers put the number of protesters demanding the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at about two million on the eighth day of protests on Tuesday in Cairo, AFP reported.

The Egyptian government canceled national train services across the country in a move to prevent the protesters to join the “million man march” in the capital city.

Protest organizers have pledged another million-strong march in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria on Tuesday side by side their fellow capital residents.

Anti-government protesters and opposition groups have announced an indefinite general strike to mount pressure on Mubarak.

Many protesters defied a curfew to bunker down overnight in Tahrir Square in central Cairo.

The uprising, which has claimed at least 125 lives in Egypt so far, has forced Mubarak to announce political and economic reforms dismissed as inadequate by opposition figures.

The Egyptian Army has pledged not to open fire on peaceful demonstrators as thousands of people insist on their campaign to oust Mubarak.

The army, which put Mubarak into power in 1981, has reportedly announced that it considers the people's demands as legitimate.

RZS/HRF/AKM

o