The Muslim Brotherhood has called for a national interim government in which the ruling party should be excluded, according to a statement posted Saturday on the group’s website.

The banned but tolerated group called on protesters to maintain the momentum and protect private and public properties. Earlier, the nation’s largest Islamist group threw its full backing behind the anti-regime protests by sending tens of thousands of its members to the streets on Friday. For the last four days, Egypt has been racked by unprecedented large demonstrations calling for President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Several incidents of looting and vandalism have been reported nationwide. In a speech last night, Mubarak ignored the opposition’s main demand--which was for him to step down--and warned against chaos. He announced that he had sacked the cabinet and promised fresh democratic reforms and new economic policies to alleviate poverty and unemployment.   Mubarak, who heads the ruling National Democratic Party, has remained in office for almost 30 years.