As I reported this morning, Mubarak's plan to send the army into Cairo Saturday backfired. For the most part, soldiers sided with the protesters, protecting them from the local police. The government is incensed. Rumors started circulating around 1pm local time in Egypt that the authorization was given to the Egyptian army to "shoot to kill" starting tonight.
This information is coming from Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institute. He has been receiving calls from multiple contacts inside Egypt (protesters, journalists, organizers) since the protests began on January 25th. As the day continued, the news became even more frightening. According to his Twitter account, not only had the above information been confirmed, but a memo had been discovered that the order is to go into effect at midnight.
Based upon the actions seen by the majority of the troops on the ground so far, it's unlikely that they will suddenly start shooting protesters. The threat at the moment appears to be from the air. For hours now, military jets and helicopters have been flying over Tahrir Square, the focal point of the protests, at low altitudes, trying to scare the protesters.
Al Jazeera was kicked out of the county today. Video is scarce. How many more lives will have to be lost before someone steps in? A senior member of the opposition is saying that "tonight is the night", and that "there will be major bloodshed". It won't be the blood of the army or government officials, but of hundreds, or perhaps thousands of people seeking freedom.
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