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© Adam MakaryProtesters gather in Tahrir square in downtown Cairo, Egypt.
Two protesters and a police officer have been killed in Egypt as anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets to demand political and economic reforms.

The protesters were killed in clashes with security forces in the city of Suez on Tuesday, and the police officer was killed in a demonstration in Cairo on the same day, AFP reported.

On Tuesday, the opposition called on political activists to hold nationwide demonstrations against the government.

The protesters say it's a day of revolt against torture, poverty, corruption, and unemployment. Some have gathered outside the Supreme Court and the parliament building, calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

The police have fired tear gas to disperse the protesters in Cairo, injuring several people.

Over 30,000 police officers have been deployed to the city center to crack down on the demonstrators.

Demonstrations have also been held in Alexandria and other parts of the country.

Kamal El Helbawy, the former spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood, told Press TV that Tuesday's demonstrations have been the largest and most significant in Egypt's recent history.

Former Arab League ambassador to the United Nations Clovis Maksoud has said that the ongoing revolution in Tunisia is inspiring the people of the Arab world, who are tired of dictatorial regimes.

The revolution "is the prognosis by which many frustrated people in various countries -- suffering dictatorship, poverty, and marginalization, are now being empowered," Maksoud added.

Egypt has many of the same social and political problems as Tunisia, like rising food prices, high unemployment, and corruption.
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A protestor holding a placard in French reading "Mubarak, get out", identical to ones used in protests last week in Tunisia, is surrounded by riot police during a demonstration in downtown Cairo, Egypt, January 25, 2011.