20110130
reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Looted stores, burnt out cars and the stench of blazing tyres filled the streets of Cairo as day broke on Sunday, with President Hosni Mubarak clinging to office and security forces struggling to contain looters.

Egyptians put their trust in the army, hoping troops would restore order to streets seized by rampaging gangs, but would not open fire to keep Mubarak in power.

In five days of unprecedented protests which have rocked the Arab world, more than 100 people have been killed, investors have taken fright, Mubarak has offered a first glimpse of a plan to step down and 80 million long-suffering Egyptians are caught between hope for democratic reform and fear of chaos.

The United States and European powers were busy tearing up their Middle East policies, which have supported Mubarak at the head of the most populous Arab country for 30 years, turning a blind eye to police brutality and corruption in return for a solid bulwark against first communism and now militant Islam.

The biggest immediate fear was of looting as all public order broke down. Mobs stormed into supermarkets, banks, jewellery shops and government buildings. Thieves at the Egyptian Museum damaged two mummies from the time of the pharaohs.

Through the night, ordinary Egyptians took to the streets armed with clubs, chains and knives to guard neighbourhoods from marauders. By morning, streets were largely deserted, with tanks and armoured vehicles deployed at banks and major buildings.

On a main street in the Maadi district, groups of men stayed up through the night at barricades built from old lampposts, bits of wood and anything else they could find.

The police who had battled protesters for days had disappeared from the streets, replaced by army troops who have so far mostly been embraced by the public.