Anti-government protestors rest in a truck after clashes with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square. Source: Getty Images
ANGRY protesters battling pro-regime militants for control of Cairo's Tahrir Square have insisted that President Hosni Mubarak step down, spurning a talks offer by the new premier who said he was prepared to go and meet them.
Ahmed Shafiq, who issued a public apology for violence that has raged in the square for more than 24 hours, said he was "ready to go to Tahrir Square to talk to the protesters," state news agency MENA reported.
But a coalition of activists rejected what was a break with the regime's previous insistence that it would not talk with the opposition until protesters went home, and said they would not talk with Shafiq.
Amr Salah, a coalition representative, told AFP that those who had launched the call to protest last week "will not accept any dialogue with the regime until our principal demand is met, and that is for President Hosni Mubarak to step down."
Undaunted by what they say has been a regime campaign of intimidation, the protesters say they will proceed with plans for a massive demonstration today, their designated "departure day" for the 82-year-old president.
Running battles in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the anti-Mubarak protests, broke out on Wednesday, raged through the night and were continuing sporadically more than 24 hours later, with the health ministry saying five people were killed and at least 836 hurt.
An AFP tally puts the death toll at seven.
More than 300 people have died since the unrest broke out on January 25 and close to 4,000 injured.
Shafiq offered his "apologies for what happened yesterday," saying on state television that "there will be an enquiry."
Shafiq later told journalists that he was unsure whether the attacks had been organised.
"I don't know if it was organised or spontaneous," he said during a televised news conference.
"There were clashes. And clashes between youths are always more heated. It seems they were carrying some weapons.
"Egyptian hearts are bleeding," he said.
"It was a bloody night, with much damage."
Several foreign journalists have also been the target of violent attacks, a media watchdog and news organisations said, apparently on charges of fuelling the uprising with their coverage.
That brought a sharp rebuke from the United States, with the State Department condemning a "concerted campaign to intimidate international journalists in Cairo and interfere with their reporting."
Early yesterday, around 50 soldiers moved in to the square to create a buffer zone between the two camps, but pro-regime militants later broke through the lines to hurl stones, correspondents at the scene said.
In a renewed effort to separate the sides, army tanks pushed pro-Mubarak supporters away from the demonstration.
Mid-afternoon, intense gunfire could be heard from the square, an AFP reporter said.
As the protests entered their 10th straight day, the opposition National Association for Change rejected any talks with Mubarak's regime before the veteran leader goes, spokesman Mohammed Abul Ghar told AFP.
But Abul Ghar said "our decision is clear: no negotiations with the government before Mubarak goes. After that, we're ready for dialogue with Suleiman."
The coalition includes leading dissident and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, members of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, the Kefaya (Change) movement and other political parties.
The United States condemned the violence against "peaceful protesters," and UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the attacks on demonstrators were "unacceptable."
US President Barack Obama called for the transition from Mubarak's rule to begin immediately after the veteran president announced late on Tuesday that he would not seek re-election in September.
The Egyptian foreign ministry rejected the call from Mr Obama and other world leaders, saying it "sought to inflame the internal situation."
On the economic front, a whopping 49 billion dollars has been wiped off the value of shares on Arab stock markets since the protests in Egypt began, Kuwaiti asset managers KAMCO said in a report.
State television said Cairo's stock exchange will reopen on Monday after what will be a 10-day closure. The bourse was last open on January 27 when it closed down nearly 10 percent.
The US State Department issued a stark travel warning for citizens in Egypt, urging those who want to leave to "immediately" to head for the airport, adding that any delay was "not advisable."
As the situation in Egypt deteriorated, up to 600 employees of United Nations agencies and their families were to be airlifted to Cyprus on Thursday, with only essential staff staying in place, a UN spokesman said.
Source: News.com.au
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