Egypt violence: Third day of deadly clashes in Cairo

Buildings could be seen on fire on Sunday

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Protesters have been stoning security forces in Cairo on the third day of unrest in the Egyptian capital over the military government.

Ten people are now known to have been killed and hundreds injured since the trouble began on Friday.

It has emerged that precious national archives were burnt when the Institute of Egypt was set alight.

The violence has overshadowed the first parliamentary elections since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.

The latest unrest has highlighted divisions in Egyptian society, the BBC's Yolande Knell reports from the city.

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At the scene

Yolande KnellBBC News, Cairo

The smell of smoke hangs in the air on Qasr al-Aini Street where the neo-classical Scientific Academy building is still smouldering. A boy ran to show journalists singed pages of documents and maps from its archives, which dated back to the late 18th Century.

Many spectators hang back on nearby streets watching as youths continue to throw stones at the military police. There is shock and anger at the brutal force used earlier by troops to try to clear a sit-in by protesters calling for an immediate end to military rule.

"We want Field Marshal Tantawi to just get out of here. We understand every little step the military is taking to undermine our revolution," an activist, Muhammad Sawry, told me. "If he's not careful our peaceful revolution will turn into something else - a nightmare."

The renewed unrest has highlighted divisions in Egyptian society. While some people worry at the army's seeming reluctance to give up power, there are many others who support it as a stabilising force during this difficult period of political transition. The latest round of voting in the election for a new parliament has passed off peacefully, with more gains for Islamist parties.

While some activists are angry at the army's seeming reluctance to give up power, there are many people who support it as a stabilising force during this difficult period of political transition, she says.

The latest round of voting in the election for a new parliament passed off peacefully, with more gains for Islamist parties.

Hundreds of protesters have camped out in the cold on the city's Tahrir Square.

Shortly before dawn, soldiers advanced from the barriers they had erected on streets adjoining the square and the confrontations restarted.

But this was not a repeat of the violence seen earlier when some protesters were beaten to the ground with sticks and shots were fired at them, our correspondent says.

The Institute of Egypt was set on fire two days ago and the building is still smouldering.

It had housed national archives going back over two centuries and its paper archives have now been largely been destroyed.

Some burnt papers can be seen on the streets, our correspondent says.

Egyptian television talk shows have focused on the loss of national heritage.

In another development, an Egyptian natural gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan was attacked again on Sunday morning.

No fire broke out because the line through North Sinai was already disabled, a security source was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.