President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has sent in the army to reclaim the streets as mobs continue to pour through Cairo and other major cities, setting fire to tyres, cars and finally government buildings, London's Telegraph reports.

Thousands of Egyptians gathered after Friday prayers and fought battles with lines of riot police at all the major junctions of the capital.

Riot squads gave way to armoured personnel carriers as the crowds ignored a curfew imposed at dusk.

Police managed to keep the crowds from Tahrir Square – Liberation Square – in the city centre by cutting them off from each other at every major junction.

But by nightfall the situation threatened to spiral out of control as protesters defied a nationwide curfew.

The headquarters in central Cairo of the governing party was set on fire and a crowd surrounded the central radio and television building. 870 were injured, several with bullet wounds.

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, led calls for the authorities to show restraint, saying that the protests "underscore that there are deep grievances within Egyptian society, and the Egyptian government needs to understand that violence will not make these grievances go away."

"We are deeply concerned about the use of violence by Egyptian police and security forces against protesters," Mrs Clinton told reporters.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, urged the Egyptian government to heed the "legitimate demands" of protesters.

He said it was "impossible to predict what the outcome will be of a long period of disorder, of violence or attempted revolution".

Read the entire story at telegraph.co.uk