Cairo, Jan 30: Facing an unprecedented people's revolt, President Hosni Mubarak's grip on power loosened today as demonstrators, many indulging in looting and arson, clashed with security forces which raised the death toll in the last six days of outpouring to 150.
 In a desperate move to cling to power, Mubarak, 82, visited the military headquarters and met the newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman and top commanders after which more troops and armoured vehicles moved on to the streets.
 Many armymen doffed uniforms to join the uprising against Mubarak's 30-year autocratic rule. All eyes are now on the powerful military which is widely believed to have a pivotal role to play in seeing a smooth transition in power.
 Cairo and other cities faced growing lawlessness with gangs of armed men helping free thousands of prisoners and looters rampaging malls, banks and jewellery stores.
 Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel put the death toll at 150 and said that 4,000 people had been injured since the unprecedented mass protests against Mubarak's regime began on Tuesday, while some other reports said over 100 had been killed.
 For the first time, a large number of judges also joined the mass protests threatening to destabilise the world's most populous Arab State.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 30 Jan 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:00:00 IST