CAIRO, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Violence between anti- and pro-government activists seemed to be limited to central Cairo, officials said Wednesday.
A crowd of supporters of embattled President Hosni Mubarak pushed across an area separating them from anti-government crowds and overturned a military vehicle, drawing a roar from onlookers, CNN reported.
Witnesses said tear gas also was fired near the entrance of Tahrir Square.
Egyptian military officials have called on anti-government demonstrators to go home.
"You have the power to bring stability back to the country. We are urging you as respectful citizens to go back home," the Wall Street Journal quoted an Egyptian military spokesman saying.
U.S. officials, citing information they received from various sources, said the Egyptian government wants to use police to subdue the demonstrations in Cairo, a senior U.S. official said.
"That may be why you do not see the Army reacting," the official said.
Internet connections were also restored throughout the county with some Egyptian Web sites once again accessible, the U.S. newspaper said.
Despite Mubarak's announcement on state television Tuesday night that he would not seek re-election in the upcoming elections, thousands of protesters remained in Cairo's Tahrir Square Wednesday, the ninth day of protests against the 82-year-old leader's 30-year rule.
In Alexandria, local television reported clashes between protesters and Mubarak supporters.
Mubarak said he wanted to push through political and economic changes before stepping down.
Opposition leaders rejected Mubarak's offer to step down after elections this fall, demanding he leave now. The opposition, which includes the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and has coalesced behind Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, said it would stop the protests only when Mubarak leaves office.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Mubarak's concession was not enough, declaring an "orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now". UPI
