Cairo, February 04: Thousands of protesters barricaded themselves in a central Cairo square and chanted “Leave, leave, leave” as they prepared for an eleventh day of protest against President Hosni Mubarak’s rule.
As the clock turned to Friday in Egypt, the Arab news service Al-Jazeera reported a “tense calm” in Tahrir Square where anti-government protesters had gained control.
Demonstrators pitched tents and prepared to camp out ahead of the anticipated “Friday of Departure” protest.
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Some slept on the ground. Others guarded the square, the epicenter of anti-Mubarak rallies that started 10 days ago, and organizers arranged people in human chains to check bags and identification cards to keep out Mubarak loyalists.
There was no sign of the fierce clashes of earlier in the day between supporters and opponents of the Egyptian leader.
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“We are the innocent people. We want to live in peace,” said Magdy el-Sayed, a 35-year-old English teacher.
Video: Egypt braces for Friday showdown
“And now he (Mubarak) uses what? Things to spread tensions between us. But we are here forever.”
At least 13 people have been killed since the clashes erupted Wednesday afternoon, the Egyptian Health Ministry said, according to Al Jazeera and the U.K.’s Guardian.
Up to 300 people may have died in the uprising, United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay said.
Apology for violence
Egypt’s new Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq apologized for the violence in Cairo, which protesters demanding Mubarak’s resignation say was instigated by his loyalists.
On state television, Shafiq called on the interior minister not to obstruct peaceful marches on Friday.
The organizers of the protest, who call themselves The Youth of the Revolution, hope to gather a million demonstrators on the streets of Cairo.
One protester, tweeting as Alaa, said in a message posted early Friday that the “mood is picking up.” “Harrasment from thugs all night while not really threatening but kept us on edge,” he added.
Another Al-Jazeera correspondent tweeted that that the “Festive and Celebratory atmosphere that marked the days of the protest b4 Pro-mubarak peeps attacked is back in #tahrir.”
However the police — feared and disliked by the protesters — appeared to have returned to the streets in some force after largely leaving security to the army.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Dan Nolan wrote on Twitter that “Dozens of police trucks in side streets around Pres Palace. Yes thats right police! Haven’t seen them in a while.”
Ahead of the demonstrations, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s biggest opposition group, told Al-Jazeera that the Islamist movement has no ambitions to run for the presidency.
Mohammed al-Beltagi also said government representatives who had invited the Muslim Brotherhood to talks on political reform had indicated that the group, which is formally banned, would receive official recognition as a party.
“We are ready to negotiate after (the end of) the Mubarak regime,” he said, adding that the government was “flirting” with the group.
“We have said clearly that we have no ambitions to run for the presidency, or posts in a coalition government,” he said.
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On Thursday, gunfire was heard around the square as protesters and groups of Mubarak supporters clashed.
Mubarak supporters fled when a tank turned its turret toward them, then regrouped nearby and resumed throwing stones.
Doctors at a makeshift clinic operating out of a nearby mosque said at least 10 people had been killed during the clashes overnight and 800 had been hurt.
The health minister earlier said more than 800 were wounded.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is reportedly discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately, The New York Times reported.
–Agencies