#Egypt: The Graphic Pictures You Don't Wanna See (PHOTOS)

(via CNN)

A dramatic and potentially deadly situation unfolded Wednesday at the epicenter of Cairo’s demonstrations as pro- and anti-government forces clashed with one another.

People hurled rocks and beat each other in the mayhem that erupted as police were nowhere to be seen and the army did little. Blood streamed down the faces of some protesters who were carried away from the square. Others climbed atop army tanks, waving flags and chanting loudly.

Emotions and the potential for deadly confrontations soared in Tahrir Square after Egyptians rallying for President Hosni Mubarak broke through a barricade separating them earlier from anti-government protesters who have been amassing for nine days in the downtown plaza.

Contesting rallies were also taking place further north in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Earlier in Cairo, the crowds were smaller and the mood different on the streets the day after Mubarak announced his intention not to seek re-election and the military urged protesters to return the nation to normalcy.

‘Your message is received … (your) demands became known,’ a Defense Ministry spokesman said on state-run television. ‘And we are here and awake to protect the country for you … not by power but by the love to Egypt. It is time to go back to normal life.’

Angry Egyptians, fed up with Mubarak’s rule, have camped out in the Egyptian capital’s central plaza for a week. The burgeoning demonstrations led to the ‘march of millions’ on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the voices defending the government were louder. They called the media ‘traitors’ and ‘agents’ and said the country cannot survive without Mubarak. It was unclear how many were out on the streets from their own volition. Three employees of the national petroleum company told CNN they were forced to demonstrate Wednesday.

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