Egypt official says one killed, 600 injured in Cairo clashes

Update at 1:38 p.m. ET: Egypt's health minister says one person was killed and nearly 600 injured in clashes between pro- and anti-government forces.

Update at 1:32 p.m. ET: Egyptian state TV warns protesters to "evacuate immediately" the central square in Cairo that anti-government demonstrators have held for several days, CNN reports.

Update at 1:20 p.m. ET: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says President Obama had a "direct, frank and candid" conversation with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Gibbs says the thrust of the talk was that "the time for change had come." Gibbs said Obama and the administration strongly condemn "the outrageous and deplorable violence."

Update at 1:12 p.m. ET: Egypt state TV says authorities will begin clearing Tahrir Square, which anti-government protesters have held for days to demand the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The square in central Cairo became the focal point of clashes today as pro-government forces tried to battle their way into the protest area. Clashes between pro- and anti-Mubarak forces left hundreds injured, Al-Jazeera TV reports, as both sides hurled rocks and chunks of concrete at each other.

The pro-government side gathered atop buildings and hurled firebombs into the crowd, the AP reports.

Update at 12:40 p.m. ET: USA TODAY's Jim Michaels and Theodore May in Cairo report that dozens of protesters -- perhaps hundreds -- have been injured in the melee. Many ran through the streets with blood streaming down their faces. Opposition protesters beat pro-Mubarak demonstrators as they were dragged, wounded, through the crowds.

Anti-government protesters set up barricades outside Tahrir Square after clashes with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak today in Cairo. CAPTIONBy Peter Macdiarmid, Getty ImagesThe AP says the battle line was formed next to the famed Egyptian Museum at the edge of Tahrir Square. Pro-government rioters blanketing the rooftops of nearby buildings dumped bricks and firebombs onto the crowd below, setting a tree on fire inside the museum grounds.

On the street, the two sides crouched behind abandoned trucks and hurled chunks of concrete and bottles at each other. Among the more than 3,000 government supporters, some waved machetes.

Some pleaded for protection from soldiers stationed at the square, who refused, the AP says.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley issued this statement:

After days of peaceful protests in Cairo and other cities in Egypt, today we see violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. The United States denounces these attacks and calls on all engaged in demonstrations currently taking place in Egypt to do so peacefully. These attacks are not only dangerous to Egypt; they are a direct threat to the aspirations of the Egyptian people. The use of violence to intimidate the Egyptian people must stop. We strongly call for restraint.

Bloodied anti-government protesters were taken to makeshift clinics in mosques and alleyways, and several hundred were reported injured.

Update at 11:30 a.m ET. The Associated Press reports that the clashes began when about 3,000 Mubarak supporters broke through a human chain of protesters trying to defend the thousands gathered in Tahrir Square.

From there, the clashes escalated into outright street battles as hundreds poured in to join each side. They tore up sidewalks and a nearby construction site and began hurling stones, chunks of concrete and sticks at each other.
A small contingent of pro-Mubarak forces on horseback and camels rushed into the anti-Mubarak crowds, trampling several and swinging whips and sticks to beat people. Protesters retaliated, dragging some from their mounts, throwing them to the ground and beating their faces bloody.

Update at 11:12 a.m. ET: The White House says the United States "deplores and condemns" the violence in Egypt and repeats its call for restraint.

Update at 10:42 a.m. ET: At least 100 people have been injured in clashes in central Cairo between pro- and anti-Mubarak protesers, Al-Jazeera reports.

The worst of the fighting is taking place just outside the famous Egyptian Museum, Al-Jazeera reports. The network says its correspondents report that the army is letting pro-Mubarak supporters through barracides around Tahrir Square.

Update at 10:35 a.m. ET: Opposition leader Mohadem ElBaradei calls President Hosni Mubarak's pledge to step down after September's elections "an act of deception" that will not satisfy the demands of protesters.

"Nobody is satisfied with that, nobody is ready to be naive, not see a ploy," ElBaradei told a small group of journalists in an interview, The Wall Street Journal reports. "It's an act of deception to me."

The Nobel laureate says that protesters will end their demonstration only after Mubarak meets their demand to leave the country.

Update at 10:31 a.m. ET: The BBC's Ian Pannell sums up the clashes today: "There's a lot of anger on the streets at the moment, a lot of argument, fists are flying. And who knows where this will end."

Update at 9:53 a.m. ET: CNN reports a "pitched battle" between pro- and anti-Mubarak forces in front of the antiquities museum in Cairo. Anderson Cooper reports that pro-government forces have thrown four or five firebombs at the anti-Mubarak crowds. Cooper says the firebombs set at least one military vehicle afire briefly.

CNN reports that military forces, which checked crowds for ID and weapons before demonstrations the past two days in Tahrir Square, are standing aside and no longer involved in crowd control.

Update at 9:53 a.m. ET: CNN reports that crowds have overturned a military vehicle near the Cairo antiquities museum and clashes broke out between pro- and anti-Mubarak forces in the center of the city.

CNN's Anderson Cooper says the pro-Mubarak crowds are "looking for a fight."

Earlier posting: Hundreds of pro- and anti-government forces are clashing in central Cairo today as protesters calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak refused the military's call to end their week-long demonstrations.

Al-Jazeera reports shots in the area where pro- and anti-Mubarak forces are clashing in central Cairo. Al-Jazeera says they appear to be warning shots fired into the air and some demonstrators may be trying to take refuge in the antiquities museum.

Hundreds of rock-throwing demonstrators have moved behind barriers and trucks for protection.

USA TODAY's Jim Michaels and Theodore May report that dozens of pro-Mubarak demonstrators mounted on horses and camels charged into a crowd at Tahrir Square, swinging whips and clubs.

NBC's Richard Engel reports that some demonstrators have knives and others are using crowbars to break up pavement stones to use as missiles.

CNN"s Steve Brusk tweets that correspondent Anderson Cooper was punched 10 times in the head as a pro-Mubarak mob surrounded him and his crew as they were trying to cover the demonstration.

It is not clear what impact the clashes will have on efforts to stabilize the country. Anti-government protesters have said they are not satisfied with Mubarak's statement and pledged to continue to pressure him to resign. Demonstrators who support the president began appearing in larger numbers Wednesday.

"The people in Tahrir Square are not Egyptians," says Gamel el-Fekey, 54, who showed up for a pro-Mubarak rally. "Mubarak is the father of our country."