You be the judge…truth? propaganda? something in between?

Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition figure, has joined thousands of protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, in continued demonstrations demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency [and Muslim Brotherhood member] told the crowd on Sunday night that “what we have begun cannot go back” referring to days of anti-government protests.

The National Coalition for Change, which groups several opposition movements including the Muslim Brotherhood, wants ElBaradei to negotiate with the Mubarak government.

“The people want the regime to fall,” protesters chanted as ElBaradei walked to the centre of the square, holding hands with some demonstrators.

The show of continued defiance by the people came on a day when air force fighter planes flew low over Cairo along with helicopters and extra troop lorries appeared in the central square.

As the protests continue, security is said to be deteriorating and reports have emerged of several prisons across the country being attacked and of fresh protests being staged in cities like Alexandria and Suez.

Reporting from Cairo earlier on Sunday, an Al Jazeera correspondent said it was a “long way from business as usual” in the Egyptian capital on the first working day since protests peaked on Friday.

He said that extra military roadblocks had been set up in an apparent attempt to divert traffic away from Tahrir Square, which has become a focal point for demonstrators.

“It’s still a very tense scene to have so much military in the capital city of the country.”

Earlier in the morning, another correspondent reported that the city appeared deserted in the early hours.

“The streets are very dirty, there is debris everywhere. The police have just disappeared. Any security at this stage is in the hands of the army.”

Al Jazeera’s correspondents in the port city of Alexandria have also said that anti-government protests have begun there, with hundreds of people on the streets.

Security situationThe security situation in the capital prompted the country’s interior minister to hold meetings with top officials on Sunday.

Habib al Adli met Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the defence minister, and vice president Omar Soliman, state television reported.

As the police withdrew from streets across Egypt, Adli has been the target of growing criticism by the protesters who have called on him to resign.

The absence of police has given looters a free rein, forcing ordinary citizens to set up neighbourhood patrols. However, police are expected to return to the streets two days after they viirtually disappeared. Sources told Reuters news agency that police would return to traffic, criminal and other duties but would not be sent in to confront protesters, with whom they often clashed violently in the first days of the protests.

The army were ordered in on Friday.According to Dina Magdi, an eyewitness, unidentified men on Sunday morning came out of the interior ministry compound in a car and dumped a body on a street. They then opened fire on people present in the area and fled. There were no immediate reports of casualties in that attack.

Al Jazeera’s sources have indicated that the military has now also been deployed to the resort town of Sharm el Shaikh.

Sherine Tadros, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the city of Suez, said the city had witnessed a “completely chaotic night”, but that the streets were quiet as day broke. She reported that in the absence of police and military, people were “tak[ing] the law into their own hands”, using “clubs, batons, sticks, machetes [and] knives” to protect their property.” People are trying to get back to normal, but of course this is anything but,” she said, adding that as the day wore on, the military had set up several checkposts in an attempt to “show people that they are here and … will provide some kind of security”.

Rawya Rageh, our correspondent in Alexandria, reported similar scenes, saying that people were particularly concerned about their personal safety and that of their property. She reported that the military in Alexandria was not focusing on protesters, attempting instead to prevent any further damage or theft of property.

Anti-Mubarak protests have engulfed Middle East’s most populous nation since last Tuesday. More than 150 people have been killed in the unrest.

On Saturday, an embattled Mubarak sacked his cabinet and appointed a vice-president and a new prime minister. But the move has failed to douse anger on the streetsAs international powers express concern regarding events in Egypt, the US state department has reduced its diplomatic presence in Egypt, saying it had authorised the voluntary departure of dependents of diplomats and non-essential workers.