Unrest continues in central Cairo

Unrest is continuing in Cairo as protesters step up their demand for Egypt's military rulers to resign.

Street battles with riot police have been heaviest around the fortified interior ministry located on a side street off Tahrir Square.

Gunfire was reported late on Wednesday but the interior minister said security forces were only firing tear gas.

The protesters have rejected a pledge by the ruling military council to speed up transition to a civilian government.

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Cairo says the violence threatens to overshadow next week's parliamentary elections.

He says public opinion on the protests is divided. Some Egyptians want elections to go ahead unhindered while others believe the military must be swept from power first.

The clashes, now entering their sixth day, are the longest outbreak of violence since the 18-day uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Since then a military council has been tasked with guiding the country's transition to democracy. The latest protests have been triggered by suspicions that the military intends to hang on to power.

On Tuesday Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, sought to defuse the situation by promising presidential elections by the end of June, six months sooner than planned. The military-appointed civilian cabinet also tendered its resignation.

"They [the military] were with Mubarak from the start," said Fatihia Abdul Ezz, 60, who had come to the square to protest.

"I came when I saw our sons being killed."

BBC