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The BBC's Jon Leyne: "The army is now willing to support the anti-Mubarak protesters"

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by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Egypt's prime minister has apologised for the fighting between pro- and anti-government demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which killed five people and wounded several hundred.

Ahmed Shafiq pledged to investigate the violence, calling it a "fatal error".

Pre-dawn gunfire lasted for two hours as anti-government demonstrators tried to stay in control of the square.

The protesters are demanding that President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled for 30 years, step down immediately.

Egypt's Health Minister Ahmed Samih Farid said earlier that five people had died in the fighting, which began on Wednesday, and 836 were injured - mostly as the result of stone throwing and attacks with metal rods and sticks.

"This is a fatal error," Mr Shafiq told the privately-owned al-Hayat television. "When investigations reveal who is behind this crime and who allowed it to happen, I promise they will be held accountable and will be punished for what they did."

"There is no excuse whatsoever to attack peaceful protesters, and that is why I am apologising," he said, urging the protesters "to go home to help end this crisis".

Mr Mubarak has said that he will serve out his current presidential term, which ends in September, but will not run for re-election.

Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood have rejected government calls for negotiations, saying Mr Mubarak must leave office first.

Meanwhile, the leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain issued a joint statement condemning the violence and calling for a political transition that "must start now".

On Wednesday, groups fought pitched battles in Cairo, in the worst violence in 10 days of protests.

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At the scene

Ian Pannell,BBC News, Cairo

There's another tense day ahead.

We've moved around to other side of Tahrir Square. There's more movement by the military, with armoured vehicles moving around, but not the numbers you'd have thought would be needed to bring control.

There has been gunfire, ambulances on site, people been dragged out, stones and Molotov cocktails being thrown.

The numbers of those here in support of the president is fewer than we saw yesterday, so the question remains whether we'll see more of those or more anti-government protesters today.

The unrest has left about 300 people dead across the country, according to UN estimates.

Cairo's Tahrir Square has been the main focus of the protests, and a group of anti-Mubarak protesters remains hemmed in there by barricades.

They said they had detained 120 people with ID cards linking them with police or the ruling party, most of whom had been caught attacking demonstrators on Tahrir Square.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo cites a retired general who has been speaking to tank crews on the square as saying the army was losing patience, and if firing continued from pro-government supporters, it was willing to fire on them.

Those attacking them appear to be either police who have taken off their uniforms or plain-clothes "thugs", our correspondent says.

There were petrol bombs being lobbed during the night and now this morning there's been gunfire.

The military leadership seems deeply uncomfortable with what is happening, adds our correspondent; they do not want to turn on protesters but they are not willing to defy the president either.

The US has urged all Americans in Egypt to leave "immediately".

'Very tense'

On Thursday, the army used its vehicles to separate the feuding factions.

One tank turned its turret towards pro-Mubarak demonstrators who were throwing rocks at protesters from a road above Tahrir Square, before advancing towards them with footsoldiers to help clear the overpass.

Earlier, Mona Seif, an anti-government protester in Tahrir Square, described the atmosphere as "very tense".

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Actor Khalid Abdalla: "The fight for noble ideals will continue"

"Every couple of minutes we hear a sequence of gunshots, and it's only on one side of the square, which is the one close to Cairo Museum," she told the BBC.

Wednesday's violence began when thousands of supporters of President Mubarak surged into the square.

Continue reading the main story

• Pro-Mubarak camp 'well-organised'
• US 'concerned' at violence
• Square's place in history
• 'We are falling one-by-one'

"They started throwing stones at us," said an anti-government protester named as Zaccaria. "Then some of us started throwing stones at them and then we chased them out of the square. They returned once again with the horses and the whips and the thugs."

Opposition supporters say many in the pro-government camp were paid by the authorities to demonstrate, and allowed into the square by the troops surrounding it.

The two sides pelted each other with stones in running battles lasting for hours.

Egyptian troops refused to intervene, but fired into the air to try to disperse people. On Wednesday, they called for demonstrators to return to their homes, a call which was reiterated by Vice-President Omar Suleiman.

Clashes were also reported in Egypt's second city, Alexandria.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman in a phone call on Wednesday that the clashes were a "shocking development" after days of peaceful protests.

She also "underscored the important role that the Egyptian armed forces have played in exercising restraint in the face of peaceful demonstrations", the state department said in a statement.

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says he was handcuffed, blindfolded and interrogated by Egyptian secret police, before being released after three hours.

He says that the authorities' attitude appears to be hardening and the ruling elite are fighting back.

The violence drew condemnation from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"If it turns out that the regime in any way has sponsored or tolerated this violence, that is completely unacceptable," he said after meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in London.

Mr Ban said: "Any attack against the peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable and I strongly condemn it."

If Mr Mubarak does not step down, demonstrators have planned to march on the presidential palace on Friday.

Meanwhile, internet services were returning to the country, having been cut off for days by the government.

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The BBC's Jeremy Bowen: "There is a lot of violence, I've seen people with some really ugly wounds"

by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News 

Clashes have erupted in the Egyptian capital between supporters of President Hosni Mubarak and demonstrators calling on him to step down immediately.

Rival groups of protesters are fighting pitched battles in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square. Several people have been wounded and shots have been heard.

Earlier, the army urged people to return home after nine days of anti-government demonstrations.

Mr Mubarak has pledged he will not stand for re-election in September.

On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands had protested across the country against Mr Mubarak, the culmination of more than a week of demonstrations that have left about 300 people dead according to UN estimates.

Up to 2,000 anti-Mubarak demonstrators saw out a cold night in Tahrir Square, the main focus of the protests, saying the president's pledge was insufficient and chanting: "We will not leave!" They want to see him deposed and punished.

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At the scene

Ian Pannell,BBC News, Cairo

We're in the middle of a very fluid situation - this is entirely dangerous, entirely provocative. Thousands of pro-Mubarak forces are now surging into Tahrir Square.

There was a cordon set up by the anti-Mubarak protesters to try and hold them back. The army were in the middle. They didn't take sides.

And basically there were too many of them. So they are now surging forward.

We've just seen one man being attacked - being kicked and punched and hit with a stick. And we've also seen protesters pulling down signs that are against President Mubarak.

There's a lot of anger on the streets at the moment, a lot of argument, fists are flying. And who knows where this will end.

But on Wednesday, thousands of supporters of President Mubarak surged into the square, dismantling barricades.

"You guys have made your point clear, let the man (Mubarak) take care of you until his time is up. Mubarak wants stability and we want stability as well," said Mohamed Shafik.

"Let Egyptians go home and look after their families," the 51-year-old pharmacist told Reuters news agency.

Television footage showed opposing groups facing off, chanting slogans. They later hurled stones at each other and fought with stick and bottles. Some government supporters rode horses and camels and wielded whips.

Gunfire was heard. Some reports say troops fired warning shots to disperse the crowds.

But Ibrahim Zadran, co-ordinator of the opposition National Association for Change, told the BBC that some pro-government activists had used firearms and shot 15 protesters.

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen, who is in Tahrir Square, said the clashes were becoming increasingly violent and he had seen people with nasty wounds.

The anti-Mubarak protesters have been accusing the army of moving aside to let in their pro-government rivals.

The troops guarding the square have not intervened. The crowds of protesters began to thin after the fighting broke out.

Clashes between the rival groups were also reported in Egypt's second city, Alexandria.

The violence triggered condemnation from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Continue reading the main story

• Simpson: Lessons in history
• In pictures: Huge protests
• Interactive map
• Square's place in history

"If it turns out that the regime in any way has sponsored or tolerated this violence, that is completely unacceptable," he said after meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in London.

In its earlier statement, the army called for demonstrators to return to their homes.

"Your message has arrived, your demands became known... you are capable of bringing normal life to Egypt," said a spokesman in a message broadcast on state television.

In Tuesday night's speech, Mr Mubarak had promised to leave at the next polls, and pledged constitutional reform, saying he would devote his remaining time in power to ensuring a peaceful transition to his successor.

US President Barack Obama responded by saying an orderly transition "must begin now", while Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Mr Mubarak should take a "different step".

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei dismissed Mr Mubarak's move as "a trick" to stay in power, and Tahrir Square protesters have vowed to continue their demonstrations until Mr Mubarak quits.

Abdelhalim Kandil, leader of Egypt's Kifaya (Enough) opposition movement, said Mr Mubarak's offer not to serve a sixth term was not enough.

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President Obama: "An orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now"

"I will tell you very simply that there is an unprecedented popular movement that rejects the presence of the president on a scope that has not been seen before, that is calling for the will of the people to be imposed," he said.

If Mr Mubarak does not step down, demonstrators have planned to march on the presidential palace.

Meanwhile, internet services were reportedly returning to the country, having been cut off for days by the government.

State television also reported an easing of a nationwide curfew - with restricted hours from 1700-0700 (1500-0500GMT) rather than 1500-0800.

State media reported that parliament had been suspended until the results of last year's contested elections were revised.

It added that the parliamentary speaker had called for Mr Mubarak's proposed constitutional reforms to be implemented within two-and-a-half months.

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The BBC's John Simpson describes the scene in Cairo's Tahrir Square

by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Egyptian protesters are holding huge rallies in Cairo and other cities as they step up their efforts to force President Hosni Mubarak from power.

Organisers have been hoping to bring one million people on to the streets of the capital. The demonstration is the biggest since the protests began.

The atmosphere has been festive, with protesters singing and chanting.

Protest leaders, including Mohamed ElBaradei, have called on Mr Mubarak to step down by Friday at the latest.

"They hope that this will end today or Friday at the latest, and they called the coming Friday 'the Friday of departure', but I hope that President Mubarak will take heed before then and leave the country after 30 years of rule and give the people a chance, and I don't expect that he wants to see more blood," Mr ElBaradei told al-Arabiya TV.

BBC correspondents in Cairo's Tahrir Square say the crowds there are already much bigger than on the previous seven days of protests.

Journalists at the scene estimated that hundreds of thousands of people - men, women and children from a cross-section of Egyptian society - have gathered, although in the absence of official estimates, there is no way of finding out the exact numbers.

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At the scene

Wyre DaviesBBC News, Alexandria

The great strength of this popular uprising is that it is happening across Egypt.

Hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, men and women of all faiths are taking to the streets.

In the northern city of Alexandria the main focus was the famous Ibrahim Mosque in the centre of this historical coastal city.

Tens of thousands descended on the square. They climbed on roofs and the tops of cars and in trees to get a vantage point, all calling for the removal of Hosni Mubarak.

I saw one effigy of the president being hanged and another man threw shoes at it. Other people carried aloft a coffin representing the end of the Mubarak regime.

These are scenes that would have been unthinkable only days ago in such an authoritarian country.

Egypt's powerful army has vowed it will not use force against the protesters.

Many carried placards and banners daubed with anti-Mubarak slogans. Earlier, crowds cheered as an effigy of the president was hung from a set of traffic lights in the square.

Meanwhile, new Vice-President Omar Suleiman said he would hold cross-party talks on constitutional reform.

Mr Mubarak reshuffled his cabinet on Monday to try to head off the protests, replacing the widely despised Interior Minister Habib al-Adly.

Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq told state TV the new government would ensure bread supplies, tackle security problems and "review our entire political, constitutional and legislative situation, into something more satisfactory and appropriate for us as Egyptian citizens".

"Everything is subject to amendments, without limits," he said.

But analysts say the army's statement has been a major blow for President Mubarak, and appears to have encouraged protesters, who are flocking to central Cairo in their thousands.

The feeling that change is coming in Egypt is getting stronger, says the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen in Cairo. Too much has happened too quickly to go back to the way things were before, he says.

Continue reading the main story

• In pictures: Huge protests
• Square's place in history

The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, says 300 people may been killed across the country since the protests began a week ago. They followed an internet campaign and were partly inspired by the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia last month.

Egypt has since cut off the internet in the country and text messaging services have been disrupted.

In other developments:

• The US state department announced it had ordered all non-emergency US embassy and government personnel to leave Egypt
• AFP news agency reported that US Ambassador Margaret Scobey had spoken by phone to Mr ElBaradei
• In an opinion piece for the New York Times, US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee head John Kerry called on Mr Mubarak to step down and engineer a peaceful transition
• The US has despatched a special envoy to Cairo, former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner

In Egypt's second biggest city, Alexandria, thousands of people have gathered to call for the president to step down.

Thousands more were out in the streets in Suez, and the Associated Press news agency reported protests in Mansoura, north of Cairo, and the southern cities of Assiut and Luxor.

With limited bus, train and internal flight services, access to the capital has been restricted.

Unnamed security officials were reported as saying all roads and public transportation to Cairo had been shut down.

Some protesters camped out in Tahrir Square on Monday night, saying they would stay there until Mr Mubarak's 30-year rule ended.

One demonstrator, Tarek Shalabi, told the BBC that groups were camped out in tents or sleeping out in the square, and described the atmosphere as "overwhelming".

"We're here because we want to make a statement. We're not going until Mubarak steps down," he said.

He said a stage had been set up where people could go up and make speeches, read out poetry or sing or chant political slogans.

Mubarak supporters have been holding counter-demonstrations in the Egyptian capital

Meanwhile, crowds of pro-Mubarak demonstrators held counter-protests elsewhere in the capital, raising fears of possible confrontations between the different groups.

On Monday, the Egyptian army said it respected the "legitimate rights of the people".

In its statement, carried on Egyptian media, the military said: "To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people... have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people."

Correspondents say the announcement is absolutely critical because it takes away a huge measure of uncertainty from the mind of any potential demonstrator.

A coalition of political opposition groups - incorporating the Muslim Brotherhood, political parties such as that led by Mr ElBaradei, and other prominent figures - has reportedly met, and told the Egyptian government that it will begin talks on its demands only after Mr Mubarak has stood down.

Concerns have also grown about the economy, as global oil prices on Monday topped $100 (£62) a barrel amid fears over the ongoing unrest.

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by Biodun Iginla and Natalie Duval, BBC News. Natalie reported from Mogadishu 

A Somali man accused of spying for the CIA has been killed by firing squad in the capital, Mogadishu.

Ahmed Ali Hussein, 44, was also accused of belonging to a sect opposed to Islamist group al-Shabab, which runs much of southern and central Somalia.

An al-Shabab judge said Mr Hussein had admitted helping the US for the past 16 months.

Correspondents say those who criticise al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, are often accused of spying and killed.

Meanwhile, at least six people have been killed in fighting in Mogadishu between pro-government forces loyal to different commanders.

Journalist Mohamed Sheikh Nor says Mr Hussein was chained and riddled with bullets as hundreds of people were forced to watch the execution.

Al-Shabab said Mr Hussein was a cleric with the Ictizam sect which opposes al-Shabab policies but the group did not confirm this.

Judge Sheikh Omar said Mr Hussein had admitted helping the CIA find information about those behind the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which killed 224 people.

US officials have long accused al-Shabab of links to those behind the twin attacks.

Last week, Tanzanian Ahmed Ghailani, 36, was sentenced to life for conspiracy over the bombings.

Somalia has not had a functioning national government for 20 years - al-Shabab is battling the UN-backed administration for control of Mogadishu.

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by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News 

Protesters are refusing to go until President Mubarak steps down

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in central Cairo for a seventh day of protest, calling for a general strike.

Police have been ordered back to the streets, to positions they abandoned on Friday, but it is not clear whether they are returning to central Cairo.

The demonstrators are also planning a huge march to take place on Tuesday.

Protesters want President Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power. He has promised political reform.

The president has ordered his new Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafiq, to push through democratic reforms and create new jobs.

Correspondents say all the signs continue to suggest that the only change the protesters will settle for is Mr Mubarak's removal from office.

Some police have been seen directing traffic

Meanwhile, Moodys Investor Services has downgraded Egypt's bond rating and changed its outlook from stable to negative, following a similar move by Fitch Ratings last week. Both cited the political crisis.

But there were signs of disagreement within the opposition, with the largest group, the Muslim Brotherhood, appearing to go back on its endorsement of leading figure Mohamed ElBaradei as a negotiator with Mr Mubarak.

As demonstrations enter their seventh day, correspondents say there are at least 50,000 people on Tahrir Square in the centre of the city.

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At the scene

Kevin ConnollyBBC News, Cairo

On the seventh day of the crisis which will help define Egypt's future, the extraordinary is beginning to feel ordinary. The now familiar rhythms of a day of protest are re-establishing themselves.

Demonstrators remain on Tahrir Square, their strength hard to assess as their numbers fluctuate over the course of the day.

Egypt remains trapped in the pre-internet age to which government censorship has dragged it back. Military helicopters drone overhead.

The role of the army remains enigmatic. Troops are on the street and military checkpoints have been playing a more assertive role today in controlling traffic crossing the bridges over the Nile.

The soldiers see themselves as a force for stability and while some of their armoured vehicles are daubed with graffiti that reads "Down with Mubarak" it's also true that the very act of preserving order helps the old regime to maintain its grip on power.

The opposition is declaring a general strike and talks of bringing a million people onto the streets tomorrow but it's far from clear that they have the coherent structure to keep sustained pressure focused on the Mubarak administration.

One possible outcome of this remains a Hosni Mubarak who will be re-booted rather than booted out.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Cairo says the military, who have cordoned off the square with tanks, are very relaxed and letting people come and go.

Elsewhere the streets are busy and things appear to be returning to normal, with some police returning and seen directing traffic.

But there are no riot police, and our correspondent says the government is being quite clever in keeping the unpopular police force out of contact with the protesters.

There are plans for a "protest of the millions" march on Tuesday.

Our correspondent says this is an attempt to reinvigorate the movement, as many are wondering what to do next if Mr Mubarak stays in power, as he is showing every sign of doing.

Mr ElBaradei has been mandated by opposition groups to negotiate with the regime.

But a spokesman for the largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, appeared to reject this position.

"The people have not appointed Mohamed ElBaradei to become a spokesman of them," Mohamed Morsy told the BBC.

"The Muslim Brotherhood is much stronger than Mohamed ElBaradei as a person. And we do not agree on he himself to become representing [sic] this movement, the movement is represented by itself, and it will come up with a committee... to make delegations with any government."

Thousands have rallied in Alexandria, and there have also been sizeable demonstrations in Mansoura, Damanhour and Suez.

The unrest is having an impact on the Egyptian economy, beyond the closure of shops and businesses and the call for a general strike.

The US, Japan and China are among states preparing to evacuate their citizens.

Tourism is a vital sector in the Egyptian economy, accounting for about 5-6% of GDP.

International pressure is growing for some kind of resolution.

In the strongest language yet, both US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about the need for an "orderly transition" to a democratic future for Egypt.

The White House says Mr Obama made a number of calls about the situation over the weekend to foreign leaders including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

The protests in Egypt are top of the agenda of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

The unrest in Egypt follows the uprising in Tunisia which ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali two weeks ago after 23 years in power.

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The BBC's Jeremy Bowen: "It's the will of the people against the will of the president"

by Nasra  Ismail, BBC News Middle-East Desk, for the BBC's Biodun Iginla

Tension is mounting in the Egyptian capital Cairo after the military staged an apparent show of strength during a sixth day of anti-government protests.

Two air force jets and a helicopter repeatedly flew low over Tahrir (Liberation) Square, the main gathering point for demonstrators.

A column of tanks arrived there only to have its path blocked by protesters.

Amid the stand-off, leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei arrived in Tahrir Square to address protesters.

"You have taken back your rights and what we have begun cannot go back," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency.

"I bow to the people of Egypt in respect. I ask of you patience, change is coming in the next few days."

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for an "orderly transition" of power in Egypt.

She told ABC News that Washington wanted to see change that would bring about a democratic government.

"We want to see restraint, we do not want to see violence by any security forces," she added.

The demonstrators are defying a curfew that began at 1600 (1400 GMT).

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen, in Tahrir Square, says there is a mood of defiance among protesters, who are accusing the military of trying to intimidate them.

The arrival of the tanks and the buzzing of the square by the jets significantly raised the tension among the thousands gathered.

Earlier, despite the presence of armoured vehicles, protesters appeared to have free rein in the city centre, with no sign of the riot police with whom they have clashed violently in recent days.

At one point, an army officer was carried aloft on the shoulders of cheering protesters.

The police have largely disappeared from the streets.

Clashes are reported to have left at least 100 people dead since rallies began on Tuesday in cities including Cairo, Suez and Alexandria. Thousands have been injured.

Meanwhile, al-Jazeera's broadcasts via an Egyptian satellite have been halted. The Egyptian government earlier ordered the Arabic TV channel, which has been showing blanket coverage of the protests, to shut down its operations in the country.

Sunday is the start of the working week in the Middle East, but many businesses in the capital are closed. Internet access remains intermittent.

Throughout the city, armed citizens' groups have formed to respond to widespread looting and disorder.

In the northern coastal city of Alexandria, thousands of anti-government protesters marched on a mosque for the funerals of two demonstrators killed in clashes with police the previous day.

The BBC's John Simpson, in Alexandria, reports a heavy military presence and a tense atmosphere in the city.

Across Egypt, thousands of prisoners are reported to have escaped from jails after overpowering their guards.

President Mubarak earlier met top commanders during a visit to a military headquarters. He has appointed a vice-president - intelligence chief Omar Suleiman - as he struggles to regain control. Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq has been appointed prime minister.

Continue reading the main story

• In pictures: Egypt protests, day six

Sunday saw a number of Egyptian political movements issue a joint statement calling on Mr ElBaradei - a Nobel peace laureate - to form a transitional government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is watching events in Egypt carefully, and hoping to maintain peaceful relations with its Arab neighbour.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip is closed, Palestinian officials say.

The US government, which previously advised US citizens against non-essential travel to Egypt, is now advising Americans in Egypt to consider leaving the country as soon as possible.

The UK also advised its nationals in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez to leave if it is safe for them to do so.

A number of other European countries have also advised against visiting the country.

The unrest in Egypt follows an uprising in Tunisia two weeks ago which toppled President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.

The Tunisian upheaval began with anger over rising food prices, high unemployment and anger at official corruption - problems which have also left many people in Egypt feeling frustrated and resentful of their leadership.

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Egypt: Mubarak sacks cabinet and defends security role

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Hosni Mubarak: "I have asked the government to tender its resignation today"

President Hosni Mubarak has defended the role of Egypt's security forces in suppressing anti-government protests which have rocked the country.

Mr Mubarak also dismissed his government and said a new cabinet would be announced on Saturday.

It was his first statement since the protests - in which at least 26 have died with hundreds injured - began.

Tens of thousands took part in protests in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities.

Protesters set fire to the headquarters of the governing NDP party and besieged state TV and the foreign ministry.

At least 13 people were killed in Suez on Friday, while in Cairo, five people died, according to medical sources.

That brings the death toll to at least 26 since the protests began on Tuesday.

"I have asked the government to present its resignation today," Mr Mubarak said, adding that he would appoint a new government on Saturday.

He also said he understood the protesters' grievances but that a thin line divided liberty from chaos and he would not allow Egypt to be destabilised.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says there had clearly been a lot of discussion behind the scenes before Mr Mubarak spoke to the country.

But his comments will probably just provoke further unrest, says our correspondent - the people on the streets will be both infuriated by his accusations that they are seeking to destabilise the country and inspired that, having wrung some concessions from him, they could yet manage to oust him.

Tens of thousands took part in the protests in Cairo and other cities

After Mr Mubarak spoke, a sustained volley was heard from central Cairo, which our correspondent said could have been either tear gas or live fire.

The Reuters news agency later quoted witnesses as saying more than 20 military vehicles rolled in to central Tahrir Square shortly after midnight, scattering protesters into the sidestreets.

The authorities had earlier announced a curfew from 1800 to 0700 local time (1600-0500 GMT), but it was immediately and widely flouted.

The headquarters of the governing NDP party was set ablaze, while protesters also besieged the state broadcaster and the foreign ministry.

Internet and phone services - both mobile and landline - have been severely disrupted, although protesters are using proxies to work around the restrictions.

Correspondents in Cairo say military helicopters have been circling overhead.

US President Barack Obama said he had spoken to Mr Mubarak for about half-an-hour following his televised speech.

He said he had told Mr Mubarak to respect the rights of the Egyptian people and refrain from using violence against peaceful protesters - but he said the protesters also had a responsibility to express themselves peacefully.

Mr Obama urged the Egyptian leader to take "concrete steps that advance the rights of the Egyptian people" and deliver on the promises of reform in his address.

"Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away," said Mr Obama.

The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington said there is no immediate suggestion that the White House is cutting its ties with its long-time ally Mr Mubarak.

But it is clearly giving him the chance to turn the unrest into what Mr Obama described as "a moment of promise", says our correspondent.

Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Washington would review its aid to Egypt based on events in the coming days.

Britain, the US and France are advising against non-essential travel to Egypt.

Flashpoints

• Cairo: protests almost daily for the past week
• Alexandria: man set himself on fire on 19 January. Protesters tore down President Mubarak's picture on Tuesday
• Suez: protesters set fire to a government building after officials refused to release a body from the mortuary
• Ismailiya: clashes between protesters and police on Thursday
• Mansoura: protests reported on Friday