Report use of nerve agents mixed with tear gas in Egypt

Cairo - Observers from the UN and other international agencies are reporting they suspect nerve agents mixed with tear gas are disabling rock-throwing youths rioting in Tahrir Square.

Crack military troops have replaced police officers who have held defensive positions encircling the Ministry of the Interior.

Published reports assert that all munitions and materiel used by Egyptian military troops have been manufactured by American defense contractors.

Protesters reportedly rejected a military offer to hand over power later next year following elections, as they did a similar offer from the civilian cabinet to resign immediately earlier this week.

Some 38 additional deaths have been reported today as the fighting continues to occupy Tahrir Square, labeled "Liberty Square" during the Arab Spring demonstrations that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.

International news reports attribute statements by moderate Islamic leaders from the Gulf states saying that renewed Sunni-Shiite internecine conflict will "plunge the Arab world into medieval conditions darker than the middle ages."