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Hosni Mubarak’s vow to step down in September appears to drive wedge through uprising with fewer protesters gathering Anti-government protesters in Egypt are battling major internal divisions for the first time since demonstrations started, following President Hosni Mubarak’s promise to step down in September . The speech initially provoked an angry response from crowds in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square, most of whom vowed to maintain their occupation until Mubarak’s three-decade dictatorship came to an end. But as the protests entered their ninth consecutive day, the president’s concessions appear to have sucked some of the oxygen out of the public uprising. Numbers in Tahrir this morning were noticeably smaller than those witnessed at the same time yesterday, while scuffles broke out on the fringes of the square with pro-president marchers who had gathered for a rally at the nearby state television building. “We’ve had Mubarak for 30 years, what does a few more months matter?” asked Mohamed Ali, a 29-year-old lawyer. “I was with the Tahrir protesters – it was obvious things needed to change. But Mubarak is giving us that change. He’s made many mistakes but he’s also done some good stuff in his time, and he deserves a few more months to leave with dignity. The young people have taught him a lesson, now we can go home.” His words contrasted with those of Shady Hussein, who was standing nearby. “This man is like a cancer, he’s eating away at us,” said the 26-year-old website designer. “How can any Egyptian be stupid enough to believe the words of a murderer who has put so many bullets into his own people? I’ve spoken to all my friends – and these are people from all walks of life, all different ages – and we all agree he must go now. There is no shred of dignity left in him to be salvaged.” Those following the events of the past week confirmed that Mubarak’s speech had driven a wedge into the public uprising that has brought hundreds of thousands on to the streets. “His strategy was to split people right down the middle, and it’s worked like a charm, far quicker than I had expected,” said Amira Ahmed, business editor of Daily News Egypt. “All the nationalistic rhetoric was designed to appease people who hadn’t been actively involved in the street protests, people who were sympathetic to many of the protesters’ demands but want to see a certain measure of stability restored. At the same time it angered the main group of anti-Mubarak protesters even further,” she said. “There’s a lot of ordinary people now armed in the street in a very charged atmosphere and many people are scared. And those people are sitting at home and looking at TV images of the protesters in Tahrir and beginning to see those protesters as the enemy.” In the square, the main rallying point for anti-government demonstrators, many were despondent at the latest turn of events. “I was worried the numbers would be down and that people wouldn’t be turning up today and, so far, my fears have been realised,” said Ayman Farag, who has attended the protests each day. “The speech is being played on every state TV and radio station over and over again. He’s been very clever as far as domestic politics is concerned. The government is now going to be able to accuse the remaining protesters of holding the country to ransom, causing all this disruption, when he’s already given them what they want.” But he insisted that the protests should be maintained, despite the apparent shift in public mood. “If we leave now it will be a failure … This regime, this police state that he sits on top of, has to be dismantled and we have to build in its place a system with free and fair elections, an accountable police service, a legitimate government, and there’s no guarantee whatsoever that any of that will happen if Mubarak stays on – the only way to ensure it happens is to push this through and force Mubarak out now.” Egypt Middle East Protest Hosni Mubarak Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk