BBC's Lyse Doucet in Tahrir Square: "The anger that has been mounting for many months has now boiled over"
Egypt's cabinet has offered to resign after three days of protests against the country's military rulers, state media have reported.
Cabinet spokesman Mohammed Hegazy said the resignation had not yet been accepted by the military council.
As he spoke, thousands of people swelled crowds of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
More than 20 people have been killed and nearly 1,800 injured in three days of violence in the Egyptian capital.
A tense stand-off was taking shape in Tahrir Square, where tens of thousands of protesters remained in the square late into the night, and ambulances with sirens wailing ferried the injured to hospital.
Egyptian activist groups have been demanding the military council hand power to a civilian government.
"The government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has handed its resignation to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," cabinet spokesman Mohammed Hegazy said in a statement carried by the official Mena news agency.
"Owing to the difficult circumstances the country is going through, the government will continue working (until the resignation is accepted)."
A military source has told the BBC that the council is meeting now to discuss the cabinet's offer, but there is still no consensus on whether to accept it. The same source said that the council was also consulting other political groups.
The BBC's Yolande Knell in Cairo says the crowds in Tahrir Square cheered and shouted "God is great" when they heard news that the cabinet had submitted its resignation.
However they soon resumed an earlier chant "the people want the removal of the marshal" - a reference to Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, who heads the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
The ruling generals are the real focus of demonstrators' anger, she adds. The interim cabinet is seen as having little power.
Our correspondent says several thousand people remain in Tahrir Square and many plan to spend the night.
Protests are also being reported in other Egyptian cities, including in Alexandria where police are said to have fired tear gar to protect the offices of the security forces.
US 'concern'As night fell in Cairo, thousands more flocked to the symbolic square - the focal point of protests that overthrew Hosni Mubarak in February.
Medics told the BBC they were seeing people injured by tear gas and rubber bullets.
Field Marshal Tantawi has the task of overseeing the country's transition to democracy after three decades of autocratic rule under ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Elections are due to begin across Egypt next week but many Egyptians fear the military plans to hold on to the reins of power, whatever the outcome.
Late on Monday, a coalition of political groups - including followers of opposition figure Mohamed El Baradei - accused the military council of leading a "counter-revolution".
They called for a mass demonstration in Tahrir Square on Tuesday.
In a Facebook page for the rally, the groups called for the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet and the formation of a "national salvation" government.
They also demanded a presidential election be held by April 2012.
As the violence and tension escalated the US called for restraint on all sides. "We're deeply concerned about the violence," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Earlier on Monday protesters set up burning barricades in and around the square and threw stones at riot police and troops.
Security forces responded with batons, tear gas and birdshot.
Officials confirmed on Monday that more than 20 people had been killed and about 1,800 injured since Saturday.
One of the protesters in Cairo, Ahmed Imam, 33, said handing power to the military after the overthrow of Mr Mubarak had been a mistake.
Protesters fought running street battles with riot police and troops"We should not have left the streets. We handed power to the military on a silver platter," he said.
"The revolutionaries went home too soon. We collected the spoils and left before the battle was over."
In other developments
- Culture minister Emad Abu Ghazi resigned in protest at the government response and 25 Egyptian political parties called for the ministers of information and the interior to be sacked over the violence
- A group of senior Egyptian diplomats condemned the way the protests had been handled and demanded an immediate halt to attacks on protesters
- Amr Moussa, former secretary-general of the Arab League and now a presidential candidate in Egypt, said the use of force against the protesters could not be justified
Trouble started on Saturday after demonstrations against proposed constitutional changes unveiled by the interim government.
The military council produced a draft document setting out principles for a new constitution, under which the military and its budget could be exempted from civilian oversight.
A proposal by the military to delay the presidential election until late 2012 or early 2013 has further angered the opposition.
Protesters want the presidential vote to take place after parliamentary elections, which begin on 28 November and will be staggered over the next three months.
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