Pretoria - The African Union (AU) is closely following the situation in Egypt, the AU Commission Chairperson Jean Ping said during the organisation's two-day summit in Addis Ababa.
The AU "have been preoccupied with following the situation in this country (Egypt) closely," said Ping.
But he said the AU was not currently in a position to take action.
"We cannot go in every country to do the job of the country. But if you have a crisis, then we (AU) are concerned and we have to give our opinion and take actions," he said.
Tens of thousands of protesters, inspired by the Tunisian "Jasmine Revolution", have taken to the streets in Egypt in the past few days, demanding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the government step down.
The demonstration started peacefully on Tuesday afternoon, but later turned violent.
Egypt's cabinet officially resigned during a meeting on Saturday at the request of President Mubarak. But, Mubarak, who has been in office for 30 years, refused to step down. He has instead appointed a deputy and a prime minister.
The summit, held under the theme "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values", saw Heads of State and Government from AU member states discussing issues including Africa's integration as well as peace and security.
