Crowds surrounded Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition figure, as he walked into Cairo's Tahrir Square on January 30. Throngs of people cheered his arrival.

These protests appeared to be mostly peaceful, with signs of increasing cooperation between the army and civilians in the face of looting and threats of violence from criminal elements.

ElBaradei told protesters on January 30 that he came "to participate today in the lives of Egyptians.

He said he has been "authorized, mandated, by the people who organized these demonstrations ... to agree on a national unity government."

ElBaradei, a former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is one of several opposition figures whose name surfaces when protesters talk about possible future leaders of Egypt. Among other names is Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League.

But Mubarak has given no indications of giving up his 30-year rule. He vowed to listen to the protesters' message and fired his entire Cabinet on January 29.

A day later, Mubarak, 82, visited an armed services operations center, state-run Nile TV reported. Mubarak was following up on the security situation and showing support for the military, the report said.