Three Egyptian protesters were killed and others wounded Saturday when police in downtown Cairo opened fire on a massive crowd demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
The bursts of gunfire came as protesters numbering in the tens of thousands stormed the Interior Ministry one day after Egypt's embattled president refused to voluntarily end his 30-year reign.
"We don't want him!" the demonstrators shouted as a rogue Army captain shredded a photo of the president. "We will go after him!"
Protesters were seen carrying the fatally wounded victims out on their shoulders from the huge anti-government demonstrations sweeping through the Egyptian capital.
The 82-year-old Mubarak, in a sign that he could step down, appointed a vice president Saturday for the first time during his three-decade rule.
Omar Suleiman, the president's confidante and intelligence head, could replace Mubarak - who had previously groomed his son Gamal as his successor. Many Egyptians were opposed to the concept of presidency by birthright.
Suleiman also shared a military background with Mubarak, a vital consideration since all four Egyptian presidents since the 1952 toppling of the monarchy came from the armed forces.
Mubarak's decision came after demonstrators defied the government-imposed 4 p.m. curfew for a second straight day as the protests stretched into day five.
A police station in the Giza neighborhood of Cairo was burned to the ground by protesters who pulled down Egyptian flags before setting the building ablaze.
An Egyptian soldier tries to prevent demonstrators from throwing stones. Longari/AFP
The latest killings raised the death toll to 74, with more than 2,000 injuries reported, The Associated Press reported. The number of arrests reportedly climbed above 1,000.
Reuters reported that the Egyptian army drove off protesters attacking a suburban office of the Central Bank after they tried to smash their way inside with wooden planks.
The hundreds of protesters fled once tanks arrived and soldiers fired warning shots into the air.
Army tanks guarded government buildings in the city of 18 million people as Mubarak struggled to maintain control.
Egyptians help a fellow demonstrator after fainting from tear gas. Longari/AFP
Harian Padang.com-The tough-talking Mubarak tried to mollify the citizenry by firing his cabinet - but President Obama made it clear it will take more than that to sway global opinion.
In a 30-minute call to his ally, Obama demanded Mubarak take "concrete steps" to improve human rights and curb violence against the demonstrators.
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