Not ceding power immediately, says Egypt Army

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) also tendered an apology for the deaths of protesters, who have been demanding civilian control and vowed to punish the culprits amid a temporary ceasefire following fierce street battles that claimed at least 39 lives.

The activists are pressing for a speedy transition to a civilian set up and are demanding an end to the virtual rule of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defence minister for two decades.

The unrest, which began on Saturday, came days before the country's first parliamentary elections since Mubarak's ouster, are scheduled to open on Monday.

"The people have entrusted us with a mission and if we abandon it now, it would be a betrayal of the people," said General Mukthar al-Mulla, a member of SCAF.

"Our goal is not to leave power or to remain in power, but it's to implement our commitment to the people," Mulla told reporters in a bid to pacify protesters.

At a press conference here today, Mamdouh Shahin, Major General of the military council, said that election plans would continue as planned. He also assured demonstrators that those responsible for killing or injuring protesters would be held accountable and that many detainees would be released as early as Saturday.

However, he did not meet the protesters' primary demand of immediately handing over power to a civilian authority, Al Jazeera said.

The press conference like many other statements by SCAF was rejected by the protesters camping at Tahrir Sqaure. Earlier, two members of SCAF appeared on television and apologised to the families of the people who lost their lives in the incidents and called them martyrs not victims as before.

"We are completely different," one of the Generals was quoted as saying. "We do not aspire to power and we do not want to continue in power". Meanwhile, the Egyptians army erected a wall between protestors at the Tahrir Square and the security forces to keep both sides from clashing.

"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) presents its regrets and deep apologies for the deaths of martyrs from among Egypt's loyal sons during the recent events in Tahrir Square," the military rulers said in a statement on their Facebook page.

"The Council also offers its condolences to the families of the martyrs across Egypt." SCAF also promised a swift investigation into the violence that killed 39 people and left more than 3,000 wounded and the prosecution of those responsible.

Overnight a truce, negotiated by Muslim clerics between protesters and police, halted violence, on the edge of the iconic Tahrir Square, the epicentre of public dissent. But, thousands of protesters were still there and there was little scope that the latest apology by military would pacify them.

Protesters in several cities across Egypt have been demanding that the military rulers hand over power to civilians immediately. They have rejected a pledge to speed up transition to civilian rule and vowed to continue their protest until the military rulers step down.

The protests spread to other cities from Cairo. In Alexandria, Egypt's second-largest city, clashes erupted last night along a street near the main security directorate.