Thousands Gather at Egypt Protest, Singing and Chanting

Protestors gather to protest and pray at the Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt, 01 February 2011. People started gathering on 01 February at Tahrir square to take part in a large protest, billing it as a "March of a Million". Photo by EPA

Egyptian protesters are gathering for a massive rally in Cairo as they step up their efforts to force President Hosni Mubarak from power.

Organisers say they hope one million will come on to the streets in what is expected to be the biggest show yet.

In Egypt's second biggest city, Alexandria, thousands of people have gathered to call for the president to step down. Many had earlier grouped near the railway station hoping to travel to join the main rally in Cairo.

Reports say the atmosphere was carnival-like, with protesters singing and chanting, while many laid down placards and banners daubed with anti-Mubarak slogans.

Earlier, crowds cheered as an effigy of the president was hung from a set of traffic lights in the square.

Egypt's powerful army has vowed it will not use force against the protesters.

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has called on Mubarak to step down by Friday.

The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, says 300 people may have been killed across the country since the protests began a week ago. They followed an internet campaign and were partly inspired by the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia last month.

Egypt has since cut off the internet in the country and text messaging services have been disrupted.

Google announced late on Monday that it was operating a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialling a phone number and leaving a voicemail.

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