Military steps in – prime minister of Egypt apologizes

Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq apologized on Thursday for the violent attacks of yesterday. The president Mubarak has asked me to investigate the security chaos caused yesterday between por-Mubaraki and anti-Mubaraki groups. "This is a fatal error and I promise they will be held accountable and will be punished for what they did. PM stated that when investigations reveal who is behind this crime and who allowed it to happen – individuals or groups will be held accountable. His address on state TV came one day after the clashes in Tahrir Square.

Egypt - Tahrir Square 2nd February 

The military now took position between the clashing groups. During the violent clashes between the supporters and opposition groups of President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday remained still.

Who is behind the attackers in Tahrir Square

The morning after Mubarak announced he would not run again for president in September, his supporters massed into Tahrir Square and prolonged violence reigned in central Cairo.

There were immediate suspicions that the pro-Mubarak demonstrators were not simply average citizens standing up for the man who has led Egypt for three decades.

Suspicions that proved at least partly founded. As battles raged between the two sides, some pro-Mubarak protesters were captured by his opponents. Some were terrified to be caught and begged for their lives, screaming that the government had paid them to come out in violent protest. Others turned out to be carrying what seemed to be police identification, though they were dressed in plain clothes.

"It looks like much of this violence is being orchestrated by the Egyptian authorities in order to force an end to the anti-government protests, restore their control and cling onto power in the face of unprecedented public demands for them to go," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.