Hosni Mubarak supporters attack protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square

Thousands of supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attacked anti-government forces in Cairo’s main square Wednesday, some charging in on camels and horses in a dramatic escalation of violence that prompted an official order to clear the area.

After days of raucous but peaceful demonstrations that had resembled a giant block party, pro-Mubarak forces pushed their way into the square from side streets, wielding clubs and horse whips against cordons of protesters.

The crowd of anti-government demonstrators, sparse compared to their numbers in previous days, hurled stones and chunks of concrete. The conflict continued into the evening, with government supporters pelting Tahrir Square with Molotov cocktails from nearby rooftops.

Sirens wailed as ambulances carried away injured government supporters who were accessible from the outside. Inside the square, leaders of the protest movement could be heard using megaphones exhorting their supporters to hold out.

Health Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said three people were killed and about 600 were hurt in the confrontation. State television broadcast an order late in the day for all protesters to leave the square because of “provocative elements throwing firebombs.” It did not specify who gave the order, or a deadline for compliance.

Heavy gunfire broke out after 10 p.m. while the opposing factions traded Molotov cocktails from one rooftop to another, setting small fires that continued to burn but did not spread.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency who has become the symbolic head of the opposition to Mubarak, said in an interview with the Al Jazeera satellite television channel that he feared the confrontation could lead to a bloodbath.

The pro-Mubarak forces apparently were emboldened by the president’s vow the day before to serve out his term through the autumn.

“In spirit and blood we want you, Mubarak,” the president’s supporters chanted. “You are our president. You are our president.”

Army forces deployed at the historic square, which had previously shown restraint, turned water cannon on the crowd to quell the confrontation.

At El Bustan street, just off the square in central Cairo, the two sides surged back and forth for more than an hour, with at least a dozen of the pro-Mubarak Egyptians injured by the flying stones. At least two were carried away unconscious. One man staggered off with blood running down his face after apparently being hit by a rock. Other men brandished wooden clubs and glass bottles.

Much of the fighting was concentrated in front of the landmark Egyptian Museum. As rival groups threw rocks and bottles back and forth, terrified bystanders huddled in doorways around the periphery of the square.

Al Jazeera showed scenes of men on horeseback and camels storming into the crowds in an apparent attempt to put an end to nine days of protests demanding Mubarak’s immediate departure. At one point, the anti-government demonstrators attacked one of the men on horseback, pulling him down to the street and pummeling him.

Finally, army armored vehicles moved in. By late afternoon, the military had blocked some of the major entrances to the square, pushing the two sides apart.

Wednesday morning, before the fighting, the Egyptian military had called for a halt to demonstrations and urged protesters to go home. The announcement on state television was widely seen as a signal that the military had not abandoned Mubarak, who late Tuesday night announced he would not run for reelection in the fall. Opposition leaders immediately rejected Mubarak’s announcement as a ploy to hold onto power.

“You are the ones capable of returning normal life to Egypt,” military spokesman Ismail Etman said on state television. “Your message has arrived, your demands have become known.”

“The armed forces call on the protesters to go home for the sake of bringing back stability,” came another statement on state television.

Many of the anti-Mubarak forces were unaware of the military’s request to disband — and said they would disregard it in any event.

“We’re not leaving. We’ll sit under the tanks if the army tries to stop us,” said Omar Adli, an anti-Mubarak demonstrator. Then he broke off speaking to run toward a nearby knot of men who had begun shoving one another and throwing punches.

The push into the square by pro-Mubarak forces appeared highly organized, concentrated on a few key access routes to the plaza. The anti-Mubarak protesters have accused the Egyptian leader’s allies of paying people to rally in his support — and to use force to intimidate anti-government demonstrators.

The political upheaval, ignited by a popular uprising that drove Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali from power Jan. 14, has shaken the Arab world and galvanized calls for change across the region, including in Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Sudan and Yemen.

On Wednesday, the longtime leader of Yemen vowed to not seek reelection in 2013. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, under pressure from a boisterous coalition of relatively well-organized opposition groups, announced that neither he nor his son would stand for office and that he would pull back proposed constitutional changes that would make him ruler for life, according to news agencies.

“No to hereditary rule and no to life presidency,” Saleh told parliament, according to Agence France-Presse.

A day before making his announcement, the Yemeni leader’s government approved emergency financial handouts for 500,000 families and reduced tuition payments for students in an effort to placate those angry over the economy. A large anti-government rally is scheduled for Thursday in Sana, the Yemeni capital.

But in Egypt, the continued political crisis, fueled in part by economic grievances, has exacerbated day-to-day difficulties for many ordinary people. Businesses in Cairo, together with banks across the country, remained closed for a fourth day Wednesday. The cash crunch is intensifying, especially because the shutdown coincided with the month’s end, and almost no one has been able to lay hands on a paycheck.

But in a sign of increased confidence, the government on Wednesday restored Internet service, which had been cut several days ago in an apparent effort to keep opposition demonstrators from coordinating.

Before the confrontation between pro- and anti-government forces turned violent, thousands of angry Mubarak supporters gathered in the posh shopping district of Mohandiseen, where they held a massive parade to show their support for the president.

Many said they were moved by what they called his heartbreaking speech Tuesday night and were afraid that his sudden departure would further undermine Egypt’s stability.

The supporters at the parade were noticeably more middle- and upper-class than those gathered in Tahrir Square. They held a long parade down a major street, honking horns and waving flags. Many said it was probably one of the largest pro-Mubarak rallies ever held.

“The people in Tahrir Square are agents of other countries. Everyone here loves Mubarak and the country. The guy corrected his mistake yesterday. From now until September, if things improve and he manages to fix the country, we could probably elect him again. He could change his mind [about not running.] We want him,” said Hossem Foda, 34, a Cairo driver holding a picture of Mubarak.

Many governments from around the world have dispatched charter flights to evacuate their nationals from the country, draining Egypt of much-needed foreign currency. Tourism, an economic pillar in the nation of pyramids, has all but died.

In his televised address late Tuesday, Mubarak also said he would implement reforms and pave the way for a transition, but he ruled out going into exile like Ben Ali of Tunisia. His statement followed calls by the Obama administration to begin an orderly transfer of power. The U.S. provides Egypt with $2 billion in foreign aid annually.

Washington’s pressure on Mubarak enraged some Israelis, who see the Egyptian leader as a bulwark against Islamic radicalism. Egypt is one of only two Arab states that host Israeli embassies.

“I think the Americans still haven’t realized the catastrophe they have plunged the Middle East into,” Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a former Israeli defense minister, told Israeli army radio.

tim.phelps@latimes.com

laura.king@latimes.com

Borzou Daragahi in Beirut and special correspondent Alexandra Sandels in Cairo contributed to this report.