Mass Jailbreaks As Violence Erupts In Egypt

(NewsCore) - CAIRO -- At least 34 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, including some of their leaders, escaped a Cairo prison as the sixth day of unrest gripped Egypt on Sunday.

The escaped Islamists were arrested on Thursday either at their homes or during protests against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak that have left over 100 people dead.

They were among thousands of prisoners who have escaped from detention facilities around Egypt either during rioting or after prison guards abandoned their posts during the protests.

Dozens of bodies were seen lying on a road near Cairo's Abu Zaabal prison on Sunday after rioting there killed at least eight prisoners amid nationwide anti-regime protests, a security source said.

Heavy gunfire was heard overnight at the prison in eastern Cairo with many prisoners escaping during the rioting.

Meanwhile, crowds of protesters began massing in central Cairo for a sixth day of protests against Mubarak's regime Sunday -- although there were no reports of violence during the morning.

It came as the US started organizing the evacuation of its nationals from Egypt, its embassy said in a statement.

"The US embassy in Cairo informs US citizens in Egypt who wish to depart that the department of state is making arrangements to provide transportation to safehaven locations in Europe," it said.

Americans will have to pay for the cost of their charter flights, it said, advising them to send an email or call the state department to make arrangements.

On Sunday, Egypt's outgoing information minister ordered the closure of pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, the official MENA news agency. The channel was providing blanket coverage to days of anti-government riots.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was carefully watching developments in Egypt and its efforts are focused on maintaining the "stability and security" of the region.

"We are attentively following what is going on in Egypt and in our region," Netanyahu told reporters at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting after holding late-night talks with top intelligence brass and key ministers.

"Our efforts are focused on preserving the stability and security in our region," he said.

Egyptian banks and the stock exchange have been ordered closed Sunday.

Embattled Mubarak on Saturday named military intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his first-ever vice president and also a new premier, Ahmed Shafiq, but protesters dismissed the moves as too little, too late.

Both men are stalwarts of Egypt's all-powerful military establishment.

Meanwhile, the US said Saturday that Mubarak should carry out "real reform" beyond a government reshuffle, as President Barack Obama met top aides on the crisis and anti-Mubarak protests spread to US cities including Washington D.C., Chicago and Houston.

Obama gathered his national security team at the White House for a session lasting just over an hour on latest developments in Egypt.

The US president "reiterated our focus on opposing violence and calling for restraint; supporting universal rights; and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform within Egypt," a White House statement said.

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