The grand Imam of Azhar, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, has issued a statement calling on the Ministry of Interior to end its attacks on protesters in Tahrir to put an end to five days of bloodshed.

Ahmed El-Tayeb, the grand imam, spoke live on Aljazeera TV at 5:40pm and also called on the Egyptian Army to intervene to protect protesters.

El-Tayeb also urged demonstrators to use peaceful tactics in their protests in order to protect the overall spirit of the January 25 revolution.

Earlier in the afternoon, Azhar officials and students brokered a truce between Central Security Forces and protesters. The truce lasted less than two hours before security personnel renewed their attacks on protesters in Tahrir.