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27 January 2011
Last updated at 09:41 ET
Nobel peace laureate and Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei says Egypt must change and he is ready to lead the transition if asked.
Mr ElBaradei, former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, spoke at Vienna airport as he prepared to return to Cairo to join street protests there.
At least four people have died in unrest which is now in its third day.
The government says the protests are illegal and has launched a crackdown, arresting up to 1,000, reports say.
"If [people] want me to lead the transition, I will not let them down," Mr ElBaradei told journalists at Vienna airport.
Unrest spreading If the Egyptian government used violence, it would lead to more violence, he warned.
"I continue to call on the regime to understand that they better listen and listen quickly, not use violence and understand that change has to come. There's no other option," Mr ElBaradei added.
Police and demonstrators have again clashed in Cairo and Suez, and reports say the unrest has now spread to the industrial city of Ismailiyya.
The country's stock exchange suspended trading temporarily after a sharp drop within minutes of opening, but its benchmark index has fallen further since re-opening.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
People are disgruntled about everything - about politics, economics, their lives, the state of the country. One could talk about the unemployment, and the poverty, and the corruption. People feel they are being treated with contempt by the government.
But the discontent is also wider than that. Egyptians will tell you that this country needs a dream, a vision. They had a dream under President Nasser, they had a dream under President Sadat, they had a dream under the pharaohs.
In the 30-year rule of President Mubarak, there has been no dream - it's been mundane, it's been about numbers, and even on those numbers, many will say they haven't delivered on simple things like education, sanitation, and so forth. So people are really seeing a government and a country in decline.
The unrest began on Tuesday in what anti-government activists called a "day of revolt", inspired by the uprising in Tunisia which ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
On Wednesday night, activists remained on the streets of the capital, Cairo, and of Suez, defying official warnings.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that while the protesters are still only a minority, they show no sign of fading away and there is a chance that many more people will join once the working week finishes on Thursday.
The protest organisers have urged people to come out in force again after attending prayers in mosques and churches on Friday, stressing that the religion of protesters is not relevant.
The Muslim Brotherhood has given its backing to the planned protests. Despite an official ban, it remains Egypt's largest and most organised opposition movement.
The government appears to have no answer to the anger and disappointment being expressed on the streets, our correspondent adds - its only response so far has been to crack down on demonstrators and increase security.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 82, has not been seen in public since the protests began on Tuesday.
The Egyptian government tolerates little dissent and opposition demonstrations are routinely outlawed.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Egypt to "respond to the legitimate needs" of the people.
In addition to the four dead, a policeman and a protester were reported killed in Cairo late on Wednesday, although the authorities said this was not related to the demonstrations.
In the eastern city of Suez, at least 55 people were injured.
Sites including Facebook and Twitter have been key tools in organising the protests, but are reported to have been blocked across the country at times.
The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the US is clearly watching events on the streets of its most populous Arab ally with growing concern, fearing the potential of violent unrest at the heart of the Arab world.
Middle East social indicators
Country pop. (m) median age jobless (%) below poverty line (%) internet users (m) Algeria
34.5
27.1
9.9
23
4.7
Egypt
80.5
24
9.6
20
20
Jordan
6.4
21.8
13.4
14.2
1.6
Lebanon
4.09
29.4
na
28
1
Libya
6.4
24.2
30
33
0.35
Morocco
31.6
26.5
9.8
15
13.2
Saudi Arabia
25.7
24.9
10.8
na
9.6
Syria
22.1
21.5
8.3
11.9
4.4
Tunisia
10.5
29.7
14
3.8
3.5
W Bank & Gaza
2.5
20.9
16.5
46
1.3
Yemen
23.4
17.89
35
45.2
2.2
Are you in Egypt? Are you taking part in a protest? Send us your pictures and comments using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered By WizardRSS
Mr ElBaradei, former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, spoke at Vienna airport as he prepared to return to Cairo to join street protests there.
At least four people have died in unrest which is now in its third day.
The government says the protests are illegal and has launched a crackdown, arresting up to 1,000, reports say.
"If [people] want me to lead the transition, I will not let them down," Mr ElBaradei told journalists at Vienna airport.
Unrest spreading If the Egyptian government used violence, it would lead to more violence, he warned.
"I continue to call on the regime to understand that they better listen and listen quickly, not use violence and understand that change has to come. There's no other option," Mr ElBaradei added.
Police and demonstrators have again clashed in Cairo and Suez, and reports say the unrest has now spread to the industrial city of Ismailiyya.
The country's stock exchange suspended trading temporarily after a sharp drop within minutes of opening, but its benchmark index has fallen further since re-opening.
Continue reading the main story Analysis
People are disgruntled about everything - about politics, economics, their lives, the state of the country. One could talk about the unemployment, and the poverty, and the corruption. People feel they are being treated with contempt by the government.
But the discontent is also wider than that. Egyptians will tell you that this country needs a dream, a vision. They had a dream under President Nasser, they had a dream under President Sadat, they had a dream under the pharaohs.
In the 30-year rule of President Mubarak, there has been no dream - it's been mundane, it's been about numbers, and even on those numbers, many will say they haven't delivered on simple things like education, sanitation, and so forth. So people are really seeing a government and a country in decline.
The unrest began on Tuesday in what anti-government activists called a "day of revolt", inspired by the uprising in Tunisia which ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
On Wednesday night, activists remained on the streets of the capital, Cairo, and of Suez, defying official warnings.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that while the protesters are still only a minority, they show no sign of fading away and there is a chance that many more people will join once the working week finishes on Thursday.
The protest organisers have urged people to come out in force again after attending prayers in mosques and churches on Friday, stressing that the religion of protesters is not relevant.
The Muslim Brotherhood has given its backing to the planned protests. Despite an official ban, it remains Egypt's largest and most organised opposition movement.
The government appears to have no answer to the anger and disappointment being expressed on the streets, our correspondent adds - its only response so far has been to crack down on demonstrators and increase security.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 82, has not been seen in public since the protests began on Tuesday.
The Egyptian government tolerates little dissent and opposition demonstrations are routinely outlawed.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Egypt to "respond to the legitimate needs" of the people.
In addition to the four dead, a policeman and a protester were reported killed in Cairo late on Wednesday, although the authorities said this was not related to the demonstrations.
In the eastern city of Suez, at least 55 people were injured.
Sites including Facebook and Twitter have been key tools in organising the protests, but are reported to have been blocked across the country at times.
The BBC's Paul Adams in Washington says the US is clearly watching events on the streets of its most populous Arab ally with growing concern, fearing the potential of violent unrest at the heart of the Arab world.
Middle East social indicators
Country pop. (m) median age jobless (%) below poverty line (%) internet users (m) Algeria
34.5
27.1
9.9
23
4.7
Egypt
80.5
24
9.6
20
20
Jordan
6.4
21.8
13.4
14.2
1.6
Lebanon
4.09
29.4
na
28
1
Libya
6.4
24.2
30
33
0.35
Morocco
31.6
26.5
9.8
15
13.2
Saudi Arabia
25.7
24.9
10.8
na
9.6
Syria
22.1
21.5
8.3
11.9
4.4
Tunisia
10.5
29.7
14
3.8
3.5
W Bank & Gaza
2.5
20.9
16.5
46
1.3
Yemen
23.4
17.89
35
45.2
2.2
Are you in Egypt? Are you taking part in a protest? Send us your pictures and comments using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered By WizardRSS