move appears to have been successful. we have not seen the level of bloodshed that could have just developed in the last 45 minutes or so. is the scene emptying out or more people joining? there s no question the population dropped. the banging of just the incessant noise has fallen away. if it was supposed to dispurse, they have done their job. all these souls standing in this face-off. it s hard to tell size. it s hard to tell what is going on back there from here. the smoke is hanging over the river now. reporter: the protesters said if they lost tonight, at one stage it looked like they had
more gunfire. as this situation is scattering now. the protesters are staying concentrated in the middle. initially, we were hearing gunfire to the west. now, the nile is to the west. that s where the initial gunfire was. you saw that tank start out now we are hearing more gunfire and we are in a position i cannot see. the building is in the way. to the east, deeping into cairo away from the nile. we are hearing similar things, gunfire from the positions where the supporters pulled back in retreat. in terms of tahrir square, are a lot of people staying out overnight? are there wounded people in the square? what we are seeing is around the square. what s happening inside it.
gangs of orchestrated group that was gathered together by the government to break up the protests. some would be from the police forces. others would not be. they wouldn t necessarily have a high degree of military training. they are like a rent-a-mob. some of them were clearly armed as they pull back from the demonstration, they are using their weapon. the protesters don t seem to be scattering at this stage. it s premature to say they are firing into the crowd. we are not seeing bodies and people dropping. there s a lot of gunfire. the pro-mubarak supporters are back to take a different position. are you able to see the military getting involved or having a role in the battle? reporter: that is something we have been watching closely. there is a tank here.
connection. we can see you. what are you seeing and hearing in cairo? reporter: you can hear more gunfire going on now. there s a developing situation. the protesters calling on president mubarak to step down appear to be winning if not have won this incredible stand off here. as the mubarak supporters are leaving, we have been watching them run away from the scene. they have retreated back to positions and have been firing, some firing in the air. some firing toward the crowd of protesters. they are they were chased as one stage by the protesters. if you look down here, there is a large bridge. you can see people running across it. the people running are generally pro-mubarak supporters.
they were several thousand of them a few minutes ago. they have all just run in this direction. some retreating back and the gunfire is mixed with fireworks here. it has been the result of that. this is the moment the protesters have been waiting for, the moment they have been fighting for all day, rachel. this is live imagery from cairo. this is not on tape. as you look at the scene, you say it looks like the anti-mubarak protesters have won, how are they winning? how is this fight playing out? reporter: you can see people running now. making a counter attack. a counter charge. the bridge has been the high ground in this. we are talking old fashioned battle tactics here. the pro-mubarak supporters were