When Egyptians woke up on the Friday of 28 January 2011, they had no clue that it was going to be one of the bloodiest days of the 18 days of the 25 January Revolution, during which protesters’ resistance strengthened in the face of security forces’ brutality.
They also did not realise that a government on the verge of collapse would resort to the most drastic measures, in a last attempt to control a revolution that had already gone under the leadership of the people by then.
On that day, Egypt went offline as the Internet and mobile phone lines were suspended on a national level as well as cell phone connections. For the first time in years, and perhaps the very first time for teenagers, people had to use landlines to check on family and friends as they received a flow of alarming news reports. But the regime’s plan failed and the Egyptian revolution left its mark.
The scenes of the clash between protesters and security forces on Kasr Al-Nil Bridge in Cairo’s downtown saw an unprecedented retreat from the forces and an entrance to Tahrir Square by protesters that changed the rules of the game.
