CAIRO: Thousands of protesters gathered in central Cairo on Saturday, a day after the Egyptian army stepped in to maintain peace, as anti-government protests entered their fifth day, an AFP reporter said.

Demonstrators poured into the central Tahrir square demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, who appeared on television overnight to announce that the government had been sacked and promising economic and political reforms.

"Mubarak, out!" the protesters chanted, as army tanks were stationed around the square and with police notably absent.

On Friday, Mubarak declared a curfew from 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) until 7:00 am (0500 GMT) in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez and asked the army to work with the police to maintain security and protect public establishments.

The embattled president announced overnight that he had sacked the government and vowed to take new steps for political and economic reform.

Nationwide anti-government protests erupted on Tuesday, in the most serious protests since bread riots in 1977 shook the Arab world's most populous nation.