Interim government bows to growing pressure as violence leaves 33 people dead and more than 2,000 injured in ongoing clashes
Egypt's interim government hastendered its resignation following a third day of deadly violence in Cairo, throwing the country into fresh turmoil less than a week before nationwide parliamentary elections are due to begin.
The possible exit of the beleaguered prime minister, Essam Sharaf, and his cabinet came as anti-junta protesters announced plans for a "million-man" occupation of Tahrir Square on Tuesday, and after the use of live ammunition by security forces on demonstrators was confirmed for the first time.
At least 33 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured in the ongoing clashes, prompting a range of revolutionary movements from across the political spectrum, including leftist, liberal and Islamist organisations, to throw their full weight behind the protests.
"We confirm our readiness to face all the forces that aim to abort the revolution, reproduce the old regime, or drag the country into chaos and turn the revolution into a military coup," said a joint statement by 37 groups.
As the crowds in Tahrir Square swelled on Monday evening, it seemed unlikely that the dismissal of Sharaf and his ministers – which had yet to be confirmed by the military council – would be enough to calm the unrest. The protesters' main demand remains the return of the country to civilian rule, not just a change of the personnel operating on behalf of the ruling generals. But the resignations, if accepted, could pave the way for a compromise, with the armed forces appointing a new government of "national salvation" and offering a clearer timetable for their own departure from power.
"I don't think this crowd cares at all about the government," said Khalid Abdalla, an actor and activist who has been demonstrating in Tahrir Square. "This is about a battle on the streets in which people are being killed."
Earlier in the day a last-ditch effort by the junta to stem the violence by offering concessions to their critics – including the passing of a long-awaited "treachery law" that would bar former members of Hosni Mubarak's now-disbanded ruling party from running in the upcoming elections, which are now less than a week away – appeared only to galvanise resistance.
"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces [Scaf] only have two choices – they obey the will of the people, or Egypt burns," said Ramy el-Swissy, a leading member of the April 6th youth movement, which will be joining the sit-in on Tuesday. "People on the streets are so angry; no matter what certain ordinary people may have thought of the protests initially, they are now seeing endless TV footage of innocent Egyptians losing their lives at the hands of the security forces. Everyone knows that this is not what we launched a revolution for, and they are standing with us."
Despite continued denials by the authorities, evidence has emerged that some police or army units are using live ammunition on protesters.
Researchers from the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights, a Cairo-based human rights organisation, told the Guardian they had confirmation that the bodies of four people killed by live bullets were in the city's main morgue. The victims were all aged between 19 and 27.
William Hague, the British foreign minister, said the violence was of "great concern" but added that the UK would not be taking sides.
The US urged Egypt to go ahead with the elections and called for restraint on all sides. The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said: "The United States continues to believe that these tragic events should not stand in the way of elections." His comments came as clashes continued in the side streets off Tahrir Square, with the frontline between revolutionaries and armed police shifting back and forth throughout the day.
At one point teargas was fired by the security forces into a makeshift field hospital off the central plaza, forcing volunteer doctors and wounded protesters to flee. Nearby mosques and churches opened their doors to the injured, though medics said they were vastly under-resourced and struggling to keep count of the casualties.
Some demonstrators took to writing the contact details of their families on their arms before joining the fray so they can be identified if killed. Meanwhile Tahrir's main holding station for fatalities said it had run out of coffins, and appealed for a fresh supply.
"People have political demands – specifically for civilian rule and the end of the military council – but right now this is simply a fight between the police and the people, and you can only stand on one side," said Ramy Raoof, a prominent activist.
"And now through the statements of the government and the fact that the soldiers attacked Tahrir yesterday, it's clear that Scaf and the army stand with the police. There is now one enemy, and when you have that situation people get mobilised and come down from their homes to join."
He said elections, now only six days away, should go ahead but that they must be accompanied by Scaf withdrawing from politics. "Right now that seems like the only scenario that would work," said Raoof, 24. "But other alternatives could be proposed."
Beyond the capital, unrest has spread to almost every major urban centre in the country, including Ismailia on the Suez Canal and the strategically important town of al-Arish in the northern Sinai peninsula. In Egypt's second-largest city, the Mediterranean port of Alexandria, thousands of students took to the streets after the death of a second protester.
Amid mounting calls for the formation of a new civilian government as a way of ending the crisis and appropriating power back from the armed forces, the country's largest organised political movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a statement condemning Scaf for the bloodshed and vowed to push for the prosecution of those responsible for the attacks.
But in a sign that it was not yet ready to give up on the "transition" timetable – which is likely to see it emerge as the biggest winner in next week's parliamentary vote – the Brotherhood refused to endorse the protests or follow several liberal and leftists in calling off its parliamentary campaign, though it did promise to suspend electoral activities temporarily.