Rafael Román Martel

In a statement entitled ‘Communique Number One’, televised on state television, the army said it had convened the meeting response to the current political turmoil, and that it would continue to convene such meetings.

Thurday’s meeting was chaired by Mohamed Tantawi, the defence minister, rather than Mubarak, who, as president, would normally have headed the meeting.

“Based on the responsibility of the armed forces and its commitment to protect the people and its keenness to protect the nation… and in support of the legitimate demands of the people [the army] will continue meeting on a continuous basis to examine measures to be taken to protect the nation and its gains and the ambitions of the great Egyptian people,” the statement.

The army’s statement was met with a roar of approval from protesters in Tahrir Square, our correspondent said. She said that vast crowds were pouring into the square.

Earlier, Hassan al-Roweni, an Egyptian army commander, told protesters in the square on Thursday that “everything you want will be realised”.

Protesters have demanded that Mubarak stand down as president.

Hassam Badrawi, the secretary general of the ruling National Democratic Party, told the BBC and Channel 4 News on that he expected Mubarak to hand over his powers to Omar Suleiman, the vice-president.

Ahmed Shafiq, the country’s prime minister, also told the BBC that the president may step down on Thursday evening, and that the situation would be “clarified soon”. He told the Reuters news agency, however, that Mubarak remained in control, and that “everything is still in the hands of the president”.

Reuters also quoted Leon Panetta, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, as saying there was a “strong likelihood” that Mubarak would resign on Thursday night.

However, Anas el-Fekky, Egypt’s information minister, denied all reports of Mubarak resigning.

“The president is still in power and he is not stepping down,” el-Fekky told Reuters.

“The president is not stepping down and everything you heard in the media is a rumour.”

Mahmoud Zaher, a retired general in the Egyptian army, said that Mubarak’s absence from the army meeting is a “clear and strong indication that [Mubarak] is no longer present”, implying that the Egyptian president was not playing a role in governance any longer.