From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

From peace to violence on the streets of Cairo.

Hello again, I'm Warren Olney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

After nine days of peaceful protest, Terrier Square erupted in violence today as Mubarak loyalists

arrived on the scene. Men on horses and camels beat anti-government protesters, thugs attack reporters,

and TV crews. As darkness descended, Molotov cocktails started fires in crowds of men, women, and children.

And there was the sound of gunfire. But despite the presence of tanks and armored personnel carriers,

there was no indication the military was trying to restore order. It's now evening in Cairo.

We'll hear from reporters and others about the developing scene. We'll see how the Obama administration

is reacting and what's going on in other Middle East countries. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio

International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine

T. McArthur Foundation,

and the Rockefeller Foundation and its campaign for American workers. More at rockfound.org.

Hello again, Warren Alney. Back with To the Point. It is just after nine in the evening on the

streets of Cairo, where trouble began about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Just a few hours after

President Hosni Mubarak declared he would not run for re-election,

pro-Mubarak forces attacked anti-government demonstrators in Tahrir Square.

Lila Fidel is in Cairo for the Washington Post.

She's currently in a hotel overlooking the square.

And Lila Fidel, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

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