Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak visited a military headquarters and met top commanders amid  lawlessness in Cairo with security forces and ordinary people trying to stop looters after days of popular protest against Mubarak's authoritarian 30-year rule.

Up to 3,000 people gathered on Sunday in Tahrir Square, which has become a rallying point to express anger at poverty, repression and corruption in the Arab world's most populous nation.

State television showed Mubarak meeting newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff Sami Al-Anan and other commanders.   

The official state news agency said Mubarak was reviewing the armed forces headquarters in charge of security operations.

Through the night, Cairo residents armed with clubs, chains and knives formed vigilante groups to guard neighbourhoods from marauders after the unpopular police force withdrew following clashes with protesters that left more than 100 dead.   

By morning, the capital's streets were mostly deserted, with the army guarding the Interior Ministry, and citizens putting their trust in the military, hoping they would restore order but not open fire to keep key US ally Mubarak, 82, in power.   

'The people want the fall of Mubarak,' they chanted. 'Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans,' shouted protesters, referring to the appointment of intelligence chief Suleiman as a vice president, the first time Mubarak has appointed a deputy in 30 years of office.

It was the position Mubarak held before he become president and could set the scene for a transition of power. Many saw it as ending his son Gamal's long-predicted ambitions to take over.

'Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits,' demonstrators said. 

Sunday is normally a working day in Egypt but banks and financial markets were ordered shut by the central bank. The bourse said it would stay closed on Monday.    

Army tanks and tracked vehicles stood at the capital's street corners, guarding banks as well as government offices and the Interior Ministry headquarters. State security fought with protesters trying to attack the building on Saturday night.    

'We secured the Interior Ministry this morning and evacuated state security personnel. The ministry is empty,' an army officer who did not want to be named told Reuters. 'We're here for as long as it takes.'     

Egypt said it had shut down the operations of satellite broadcaster Al Jazeera which has shown footage of the demonstrations taking place in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria and heavy-handed police tactics to the rest of the Arab world. - Reuters