Cairo , Egypt ( CNN ) -- By day , thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Cairo , chanting against the country 's president and calling for his resignation . By night , some defied a government curfew and took to the streets again -- armed with guns , swords and sticks to fend off looters and protect their homes . Many streets in the nation 's capital were left without security after police stopped patrolling . Kareem Amer told CNN that houses in his Cairo neighborhood had been ransacked . `` We 've been hearing gunshots left and right all night long . ... The men of each household have come down and formed their own group militias holding down security for every building , '' he said . Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American Islamic Relations said the atmosphere was tense . `` It seems that every major square and every small street in Cairo was basically taken over by communities ... people are parading the streets , walking around with baseball bats and knives , '' he said from Cairo . `` We did n't get any sleep all night . '' State-run Nile TV reported that the military issued a stern warning to the people on Saturday : `` Stop the looting , chaos and the things that hurt Egypt . Protect the nation , protect Egypt , protect yourselves . '' Still , shops and businesses were looted and abandoned police stations stripped clean of their arsenals . Cairo 's Egyptian Museum stepped up security after vandals ripped the heads off two mummies and tossed relics onto the ground , the country 's antiquities chief said Sunday . On Sunday , state-run Nile TV aired images of men confessing to involvement in looting . A school teacher said he had been involved in looting at a Cairo museum . Three other said they had stolen items from a supermarket in a suburb of the city . Roughly 1,000 inmates escaped from Prison Demu in Fayoum , southwest of Cairo , Nile TV reported early Sunday . Residents calling in to a program on Nile TV complained about the absence of security . Anchors responded by reassuring callers that the army was protecting the streets . `` Those thugs are setting things on fire . ... They are setting fire in front of the hospital , '' a caller identifying herself as a doctor in a Cairo neighborhood said . One anchor replied , `` This might be a security check from your colleagues or the workers who are there . '' Another anchor told her to remain calm . On the streets overnight , stories swirled about would-be criminals and vigilante justice . `` Citizens ... have taken justice into their own hands because , as you can see here , the state has completely failed us . The regime has completely failed in being able to provide basic security , '' Amer said .
` ` We ' ve been hearing gunshots left and right all night long , '' one Cairo resident says . ` ` People are in the streets , walking around with baseball bats and knives , '' another resident says . Anchors on national TV tell callers reporting security concerns that the government is attacking them . Report : About 1,000 inmates escaped from a prison southwest of Cairo .