Egyptian soldiers separated supporters and opponents of
President Hosni Mubarak in central Cairo on Thursday, deploying
infantry to create a buffer zone in an attempt to halt violence
between them.  A journalist at the scene said the opposing camps
were separated by a distance of some 80 meters and that they
army had urged Mubarak supporters to leave the square. It was
the first time the army was seen to act decisively to halt the
violence.  "The neutral zone is absolutely covered in fist-size
rocks," said the reporter, referring to the projectiles the
protesters had been hurling at each other.  In the overnight
fighting, machine-gun fire echoed for more than an hour across
the central square where protesters - unsatisfied by Mubarak's
pledge to step down in September - have vowed to stay until the
82-year-old president quits.   Egyptian Health Minister Ahmed
Samih Farid told state television five had died and 836 were
wounded in fighting which first erupted on Wednesday, nine days
into the anti-government de