Egyptian government orders Al Jazeera shutdown

The Egyptian authorities said they shut down the Cairo office of Al Jazeera, the network said in a statement Sunday.

"Al Jazeera considers this an act intended to stifle and suppress freedom of information through the network and its journalists," the network said. "In these times of confusion and profound malaise in Egyptian society, it is imperative that voices from all sides are heard, the closing of our office by the Egyptian government attempts to censor and silence the voice of the Egyptian people."

Arabic-language channel of the network was off the air in Egypt on Sunday afternoon, but Al Jazeera English was still in the air.

Ministry of Information of Egypt said Sunday it was withdrawing licenses Al Jazeera and withdraw approval from the network staff, the official media.

"Egypt's Ministry of the media has decided to close Al-Jazeera," said an anchor on TV Nile State.

Al Jazeera said it plans to continue its coverage of the unrest in Egypt.