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Hundreds of thousands Egyptians step up protest, pressuring Mubarak

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Cairo, Feb 1, IRNA -- Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians from around Cairo filled into the city's central Tahrir Square on Tuesday morning, gathering for a massive day of protest to press longtime President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Mubarak, seeking to salvage his 29-year rule, late Monday made his first offer to discuss reforms with opposition groups. Opposition parties said they wouldn't negotiate as long as Mubarak remains in office.

The Egyptian army vowed not to harm protesters descending on central Cairo for what they billed as a 'march of millions' on his palace.

Early Tuesday, the army established a heavy presence in the center of the capital, and a military helicopter flew over the square, but troops didn't try to stop people from gathering.

At checkpoints on major roads leading into the square, soldiers asked pedestrians for identification and checked for weapons.

IRNA reporter in Cairo said that a committee from the coalition of opposition parties met Monday to discuss their strategy in anticipation of Mubarak's ouster. People briefed on the meeting said the focus was to hammer out a negotiating strategy with the army and newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, the longtime intelligence chief who apparently would take over if Mubarak left office.

Protest organizers said the opposition would make no concessions until Mubarak leaves office.

Mubarak's offer to negotiate a package of political and constitutional overhauls was delivered by Suleiman over state television around midnight.

Military commanders haven't yet withdrawn support for Mubarak, but the military boosted the demonstrators Monday night when state television, citing the army, said that the military 'understands the legitimacy of the people's demands.'

The Interior Ministry hasn't revised its official death toll since Saturday, when it said 78 people had died in clashes with police—a number activists said should have been far higher.