Hundreds of Egyptians and Libyans demonstrated on Monday in front of the Libyan embassy in Cairo in support of the Libyan people, calling for the fall of President Muammar Qadhafi and demanding that the Libyan ambassador in Cairo resign in response to the massacres that protesters in Libya are facing.
A smaller group of Egyptians joined in protests at the embassies of Algeria and Bahrain, calling for the ouster of their rulers.
Since protests inspired by the Tunisian and the Egyptian revolutions started nine days ago in Libya, an estimated 400 civilians have been killed in the regime’s crackdown on protesters.
“We are five million Libyans, if it came down to it, we are all ready to die and make Libya the cemetery of the martyrs if this is what it takes to get Qadhafi and his sons out,” said Naglaa, a Libyan living in Egypt.
Rulers of other Arab countries, including Bahrain, Algeria and Jordan, have also met anti-regime protests with brutal violence, desperate to prevent a repetition of the Egyptian and Tunisian scenarios.
The protesters in Egypt displayed a sense of Arab unity absent in recent years, holding the flags of Arab countries and shouting “One Arab Revolution against oppression."
Mona Seif, a graduate student who took part in the protests, said Egyptians had a duty to support the uprisings in other Arab countries just as they received support during their revolution.
“We need to continue what we started, it’s the same fight,” said Seif.
Protesters at the embassy of Libya took their rage out on a huge picture of Qadhafi which they hit with their shoes, yelling, “Pack up your tent and go,” and “The people demand the fall of the fool,” referring to the Libyan president’s eccentricities, which his people have endured for over 40 years.
Egyptians marched on Sunday from downtown to the Libyan embassy in Zamalek to show their solidarity with the Libyan people. Another protest in front of the Libyan embassy is planned to take place on Tuesday.
