Egypt Updated

Violent clashes broke out Wednesday in Cairo's main Tahrir Square between anti-regime protesters and supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, as tensions escalated despite the army's call for protesters to return home now as Mubarak had pledged to step down before the next election. The army couched its new request gently, appealing to the protesters to bring back a sense of order. But demonstrators said they would proceed with plans for a massive protest on Friday, their designated "departure day" for Mubarak. Earlier, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Tuesday he would surrender power in September. A leading reformist figure, retired diplomat Mohammad Al Baradei, was quoted as calling Mubarak's move a "trick". The United States called for the transition of power to begin straight away, stopping short of endorsing Mubarak's plan to stay in office for another six months. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Tuesday he would surrender power in September, angering protesters who want an immediate end to his 30-year-rule. Mubarak pledge to step down dismissed as too slow, Al Baradei calls it a trick. The United States called for the transition of power to begin straight away, stopping short of endorsing Mubarak's plan to stay in office for another six months. "What is clear and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now," President Barack Obama said after speaking to him by phone. A leading reformist figure, retired diplomat Mohammad Al Baradei, was quoted as calling Mubarak's move a "trick". In the streets of Cairo, protesters whose numbers swelled above 1 million across Egypt on Tuesday, many renewed their calls for the 82-year-old leader to quit. "We will not leave! He will leave!" some chanted. As the sun rises over Cairo today, protesters in Tahrir Square begin preparations for another day of demonstrations against President Mubarak's regime. The army tanks are still deployed throughout different positions in and around the square.President Hosni Mubarak, said on Tuesday that he would not run for Egypt's presidency again but would serve out his term working for a smooth transfer of power, instantly drawing the wrath of protesters demanding he quit now. Mubarak, who has offered more concessions in the past week than in 30 years of office, made the comments in a televised address after a million Egyptians marched against him in an unprecedented show of rage to end his authoritarian rule. Mubarak also insisted he would die on Egyptian soil, refusing to follow the path of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali who fled to Saudi Arabia after mass public protests, which inspired Egyptians to take action. In a televised address, Hosni Mubarak said that, my primary responsibility now is to return security and stability to the country to produce a peaceful transition of power in an atmosphere that protects Egypt and Egyptians, leaving authority to whoever is chosen by the people in the next presidential elections. I say in all honesty, regardless of present events, I do not intend on running for another presidential term, I have spent more than enough of my life in service of Egypt and its people, but now I am very committed to end my term for the sake of the nation. The protest has shaken Egypt to its core and sent shockwaves across the Middle East where many Arab rulers govern with the same heavy-handed security that characterised Mubarak's rule. Protesters in Egypt took to the street complaining about surging prices, a lack of jobs, corruption and authoritarian rule that has given them no voice at the ballot box. The next presidential election is due in September. Until Tuesday, officials had clearly indicated that Mubarak would run again if he was able, although rumours about his health have dogged Mubarak since gallbladder surgery in March. He also pledged to change Article 77 which currently sets each presidential term at six years, but allows the president to seek an unlimited number of terms. Mubarak ends his sixth term in September, when elections are due to be held.