February 1, 2011 - 18:36 AMT
Tens of thousands gather in Cairo for “march of a million”

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square Tuesday and many more were streaming in to participate in the march of a million as the movement to end Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule as president gained momentum across Egypt.

Some 100,000 protesters thronged Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square for a march to the Presidential Palace, a day after the army said that it won't be using force.

The military, however, set up roadblocks along the way leading up to the presidential palace and the soldiers checked people who were entering the public square. Tanks were positioned near the square, but that failed to stop the flow of people.

Public transportation and train services connecting Cairo and other cities were suspended.

The protesters in Tahrir Square have made it clear that they will not relent until Mubarak steps down and the country is put on the path towards serious economic and democratic reforms.

With the protests spiralling out of control, the internet has been down across the country since late Thursday. In response, Google said it would offer demonstrators a means of sending tweets to Twitter by calling a telephone number, where their words would be automatically converted into text, IANS reported.