Mubarak concessions 'insufficient'

Unimpressed by president Hosni Mubarak's speech on Tuesday night, in which he vowed not to renew his rule,  thousands of Egyptian protesters remain holed up in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, adamant in their demand that the president must step down.

Mubarak, in his defiant speech, announced he would surrender power, but only in September at the end of his term in office, after which he would not seek re-election.

But protesters reacted angrily, jeering him and once again calling for an immediate end to his 30-year reign.

"The speech is useless and only inflames our anger," said Shadi Morkos in Tahrir square. "We will continue to protest."

"We will not leave! He will leave!" others chanted at the time.

Meanwhile, pro-Mubarak demonstrators were engaged in a standoff with anti-government protesters in Cairo on Wednesday after they marched into the anti-Mubarak rally in Tahrir Square.

The Mubarak supporters gathered earlier to reaffirm their commitment to his administration. The crowd had chanted: "With our blood and our souls, we will sacrifice for Mubarak," Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reported from the demonstration.

She said people were "frenzied" and the atmosphere was tense, with potential battle lines being drawn between the two sides of the Egyptian divide. Pro and anti government demonstrators have already clashed in Alexandria and Cairo following Mubarak's speech.