Thousands gather at Egypt protest

Egyptian protesters are gathering for a massive rally in Cairo as they step up their efforts to force President Hosni Mubarak from power.

Organisers say they hope one million will come on to the streets in what is expected to be the biggest show yet. A rally is also ongoing in Alexandria.

Egypt’s powerful army has vowed it will not use force against the protesters.

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has called on Mr Mubarak to step down by Friday, al-Arabiya TV reports.

“There can be dialogue but it has to come after the demands of the people are met and the first of those is that President Mubarak leaves,” said Mr ElBaradei.

‘Carnival’ atmosphere

BBC correspondents in Tahrir Square say the crowds there are already much bigger than on the previous seven days of protests.

Shortly after midday local time (1000 GMT), BBC reporters said thousands – including men, women and children from a cross-section of Egyptian society – had gathered, although in the absence of official estimates, there was no way of verifying crowd-number figures.

At the scene

Jim Muir BBC News, Cairo

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People are pouring in from every direction – it’s a far bigger crowd than we’ve seen in recent days. Whether it will reach a million or not is contentious, but it’s very important for the people to think they have public support.

Walking through the crowd you get an idea of the diversity of the people flooding in – young professionals, middle class people, but also poor people and those from an Islamist background. This protest has really united a broad spectrum of Egyptian public opinion.

They have confidence in the army; there have been tanks in the square for the past three days with the soldiers interacting in a very positive way with protesters. Many of the tanks are daubed with anti-Mubarak slogans, and there’s no sense that the soldiers are in any mood to jump in their tanks and start crushing people.

The atmosphere was carnival-like, with protesters singing and chanting, while many laid down placards and banners daubed with anti-Mubarak slogans.

Earlier, crowds cheered as an effigy of the president was hung from a set of traffic lights in the square.

Meanwhile, new Vice-President Omar Suleiman said he would hold cross-party talks on constitutional reform.

Mr Mubarak reshuffled his cabinet on Monday to try to head off the protests, replacing the widely despised Interior Minister Habib al-Adly.

But analysts say the army’s statement has been a major blow for President Mubarak, and appears to have encouraged protesters, who are flocking to central Cairo in their thousands.

The feeling that change is coming in Egypt is getting stronger, says the BBC’s Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen in Cairo. Too much has happened too quickly to go back to the way things were before, he says.

The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, says 300 people may been killed across the country since the protests began a week ago. They followed an internet campaign and were partly inspired by the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia last month.

Egypt has since cut off the internet in the country and text messaging services have been disrupted.

Google announced late on Monday that it was operating a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialling a phone number and leaving a voicemail.

‘We’re not leaving’

In Egypt’s second biggest city, Alexandria, thousands of people have gathered to call for the president to step down. Many had earlier grouped near the railway station hoping to travel to join the main rally in Cairo.

• In pictures: Protesters gather

But with limited bus, train and internal flight services, access to the capital was restricted.

On Tuesday, unnamed security officials were reported as saying all roads and public transportation to Cairo had been shut down.

Some protesters camped out in Tahrir Square on Monday night, saying they would stay there until Mr Mubarak’s 30-year-long rule ended.

One demonstrator, Tarek Shalabi, told the BBC that groups were camped out in tents or sleeping out in the square, and described the atmosphere as “overwhelming”.

“We’re here because we want to make a statement. We’re not going until Mubarak steps down,” he said.

He said a stage had been set up where people could go up and make speeches, read out poetry or sing or chant political slogans. “It has a festive feel to it,” said Mr Shalabi.

“We all have one thing in common. We all hate the current regime,” he said.

Another demonstrator, 45-year-old lawyer Ahmed Helmi, said: “The only thing we will accept from him is that he gets on a plane and leaves.”

Meanwhile, crowds of pro-Mubarak demonstrators held counter-protests elsewhere in the capital, raising fears of possible confrontations between the different groups.

‘Legitimate’

On Monday, the Egyptian army said it respected the “legitimate rights of the people”.

In its statement, carried on Egyptian media, the military said: “To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people… have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people.”

Our correspondent says the announcement is absolutely critical because it takes away a huge measure of uncertainty from the mind of any potential demonstrator.

Mubarak supporters have been holding counter-demonstrations in the Egyptian capital

Whatever happens next, this will change the Middle East, our correspondent adds.

In his statement, Mr Suleiman said the president had ordered new government policy to be outlined “in the next few days”.

The review would include “clear and definite policies” to tackle unemployment, poverty, corruption and the cost of living, the statement said.

There would also be new elections in some districts where there was evidence of irregularities in last November’s parliamentary poll.

Meanwhile, the US state department has despatched a special envoy to Cairo, former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner.

Concerns have also grown about the economy, as global oil prices on Monday topped $100 (£62) a barrel amid fears over the ongoing unrest.