Heavily armed riot police battled thousands of protesters across Cairo on Friday, as the Egyptian government sought to squelch a burgeoning pro-democracy movement that appears to be gaining strength.

Egypt’s government shut down Internet connections and cellular telephone service in an effort to disrupt communication among the demonstrators, who have relied heavily on social networking sites to organize their protests.

But crowds nevertheless were gathering in response to organizers’ call for a day of protests dubbed “Angry Friday,” Tear gas blanketed much of this capital city’s downtown, as demonstrators sought to converge on the centrally located Tahrir Square. The protesters were met by police wielding clubs and water cannons.

From CBC Reporters in cairo:

Nahla Ayed:

“People are afraid and nervous. They don’t know how this day is going to end and certainly nothing makes this day harder than the fact that they can’t communicate.

“In Egypt most people probably have never had a land line. Mobile phones are all they have. There are three [mobile] networks here and all have been shut down, so nobody can talk to friends or family to check on them.”

Wyre Davis:

“The Egyptian police has long had the reputation for brutally repressing any dissent. We’ve had several days of this now … and still the appetite for change here in Egypt is incredible and is an overriding factor.”

“This isn’t, certainly, a religiously led protest, and this isn’t particularly political, either. … It does appear to be a popular protest, although this is of course a very strong response from the government.”

Margaret Evans:

“The number of people who do or don’t heed the call for mass protests after Friday prayers is an indicator of how far the opposition movement is willing to go and how the government reacts if the numbers out on the streets are a big — a testing of wills, or determination, if you like.”

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