Anti-Mubarak riots break out in Cairo

CAIRO, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Opponents of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said they would continue pressuring the government for election reforms.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of downtown Cairo chanting anti-Mubarak slogans and carrying banners challenging the political rise of his son Gamal Mubarak.

Opposition lawmakers said they would stand against Gamal Mubarak's "lust" for power and unite until the government makes way for free and fair elections, Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reports.

Kamal Fayoumi, a labor activist, told the newspaper that union supporters were against the idea of presidential inheritance.

"In the name of Egypt's workers, I declare that we've seen poverty in Mubarak's time," he said. "We don't need more of this regime."

The 82-year-old Egyptian president took office following the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He hasn't made his intentions known for the 2011 race, though it is rumored he is grooming Gamal Mubarak for the position.

Egyptian diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei arrived on the scene in February, adding fuel to rumors he would challenge Mubarak in 2011. The former nuclear watchdog chief said he wouldn't run unless Cairo reformed its election laws, however.

The Egyptian newspaper added that a small gathering of pro-Gamal Mubarak activists canceled their demonstrations that were meant to coincide with the opposition rally.

Riot police were deployed to the capital after protesters set fire to pictures of the younger Mubarak.