CAIRO - EGYPTIAN protesters were massing Friday for sweeping 'Departure Day' demonstrations to force President Hosni Mubarak to quit after he said he would like to step down but fears ensuing chaos.
Thousands who had bunkered down for the night in Cairo's Tahrir Square - focal point of an unprecedented uprising against Mubarak now in its 11th day - were joined from early morning by protesters who began streaming in from across the city, correspondents said.
Opposition leaders have designated Friday as 'Departure Day' for Mubarak and have called for gigantic demonstrations across the nation after the weekly Muslim prayers.
On Tuesday, more than one million people poured onto streets across Egypt demanding the 82-year-old veteran president step down.
Organisers are hoping for even larger numbers on Friday, despite the potential for violence from Mubarak supporters who have been staging counter demonstrations in Cairo that have led to bloody clashes in which at least eight people have been killed and more than 800 hurt. Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told his interior minister to allow peaceful protests to take place without interference, the official MENA news agency said.
The army has taken little action while the fighting has raged and police are nowhere near Tahrir Square since on Friday last week when they tried to end the demonstrations with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. The US military's top officer said in Washington, that Egyptian army leaders have 'reassured' him their forces will not fire on protesters. -- AFP
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