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Thousands in Egypt ignore curfew

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Thousands of Egyptians -- taking to the streets across the country for a seventh straight day -- defied a mid-afternoon government curfew Monday, despite a bulked-up and proactive military deployment scattered around the restive nation.

In Alexandria, an armored personnel carrier fired warning shots as around 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered. But the actions were seen as an apparent effort to intimidate protesters near a hotel.

A government-imposed curfew began at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. ET), but this daily restriction has been largely ignored by protesters over the past few days.

In Cairo, the crowd has swelled compared with Saturday and Sunday, and people gathered Monday in Tahrir Square, a focal point of the protests. Some of them said they had spent the night, and the smell of smoke from campfires lingered in the air.

Helicopters hovered overhead in Egypt's capital as one group held signs and chanted, "The Egyptian people want the government to fall."

Police have been virtually absent from the streets since Saturday, after a brutal crackdown a day earlier when thousands of riot and plainclothes police clashed violently with protesters.

But police forces were scheduled to start deploying and resuming their duties throughout Egypt on Monday, state-run Nile TV reported.

Activists in Cairo and Alexandria said they were organizing "million-man" marches in those cities for Tuesday, a week after the anti-government protests began.

Egyptian security forces in Cairo have been setting up concrete barriers around key locations ahead of the march. Those locations include Tahrir Square, the Egypt State TV building, and the Interior Ministry

The demonstrations were inspired by the Tunisian uprising following years of social, political, and economic, grievances building up among the populace. The lack of opportunities, corruption and poverty have coalesced into a push to oust long-time President Hosni Mubarak from power.

While it's difficult to ascertain a solid death toll during the violence, Human Rights Watch staffers have confirmed 80 deaths from two hospitals in Cairo, 36 deaths in Alexandria and 13 fatalities in Suez, according to Heba Morayef, a researcher for the group in Cairo.

The unrest has paralyzed daily life in Egypt, with many grocers closing shop and spotty food shipments.

The Egyptian stock exchange and banks also were closed Monday, and the Moody's ratings agency downgraded debt ratings for the country because of the turmoil.

Most of Cairo was not operating normally. There were long lines in front of bread shops and supermarkets, ATMs and gas stations were closed, and there was a minimal police presence. In one neighborhood, sanitation workers were seen collecting garbage.

In Alexandria, people waited in long lines outside bakeries and supermarkets. Nile TV set up a hotline for citizens to call in and report bread shortages across the country. A private sanitation company was seen collecting trash there.

Shops and businesses were looted and abandoned police stations were stripped clean of their arsenals.

Men with makeshift weapons patrolled neighborhoods, creating checkpoints to fill the void left when police stopped patrolling the streets. The self-appointed defense groups appear to be working closely with the military.

There have been reports of prison breaks, and state-run Nile TV said on Monday nearly 2,100 escaped inmates have been arrested.

Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network, said six of its journalists arrested in Cairo earlier Monday have been released but their camera equipment remains seized.

The unrest has forced the evacuations of foreigners. More than 200 Americans have departed, the State Department said.

Suez Canal authorities have said operations there are unchanged and the army is in control. However, shipping companies are predicting delays.

Soldiers are guarding the pyramids in Giza.

Mubarak -- who has ruled Egypt with an iron fist for three decades -- has given no indications of giving up his 30-year rule.

While it was widely believed he was grooming his son, Gamal, as his successor, that plan now has been complicated by demands for democracy.

Mubarak appointed his trusted and powerful intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as his vice president on Saturday, the first time the authoritarian regime has had such a post.

The president charged the Cabinet of his reshuffled government, to be shaped by newly appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, to restore security in the country, along with Egyptians' faith in their country's economy. Mubarak on Monday swore in Mahmoud Wagdy as the new interior minister. He will replace Habib el-Adly, who has been criticized by protesters because of police actions.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is one of several opposition figures whose name surfaces when protesters talk about possible future leaders of Egypt. Among other names is Amre Moussa, head of the Arab League.

Several opposition movements have been represented on the streets in the demonstrations. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, secretary-general of the Wafd Party, told CNN the group's followers have been "extremely active." He said he hopes opposition forces such as his party can help bring about a peaceful transition of power.