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Cairo/London: Hosni Mubarak directed his cabinet to
resign Saturday and appointed intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as
deputy president, as US President Barack Obama told his Egyptian
counterpart to avoid a violent response to the growing nationwide
protests to end his 30-year rule.
Mubarak also appointed Ahmed Shafik, the former aviation minister,
as prime minister Saturday evening, Xinhua reported.
"Omar Suleiman has been sworn in as deputy to President Hosni
Mubarak," the government-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA)
confirmed.
The cabinet complied with Mubarak's diktat and officially resigned
during a meeting Saturday, media reports said.
The demand for Mubarak's resignation reached a crescendo on the
streets of central Cairo with thousands of demonstrators Friday
demanding that he step down.
Hundreds of protestors resumed their gathering Saturday in Tahrir
Square in Cairo, where anti-government demonstrations started
peacefully Tuesday afternoon before turning violent in the
following days.
Witnesses said several tanks were parked near the square.
Egyptians have been taking to the streets since Tuesday, demanding
Mubarak's ouster.
A demonstrator on the street said: "All people can die, to hell
with us all - only Hosni Mubarak wants to live."
The government has banned unauthorised protests and warned
protesters that they would be dealt with swiftly.
More than 1,000 people have been arrested this week, with many
more reportedly missing.
In Cairo, police have used rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes
with protesters at the interior ministry. There have also been
clashes in the cities of Alexandria and Ismailiya, according to
BBC.
The military, called out Friday to reinforce police, continued to
patrol the streets with tanks and armoured vehicles as
demonstrators defied the overnight curfew, ordered by Mubarak for
Cairo, Suez and Alexandria but later extended nationwide.
Mubarak said in a televised, 11-minute speech: "I have asked the
government to resign."
As many as 13 protesters were killed Friday in clashes with
security forces, amid a tide of anger at Mubarak.
"Down with Mubarak", chanted the protesters.
The BBC reported that at least 45 people have died in clashes
across Egypt since Friday, citing health officials.
The latest figures bring the death toll in the week's unrest to at
least 52, with both protesters and police officers among the dead.
About 2,000 people have been injured.
"Live bullets have been fired at protesters, aimed at their
heads," Yaser Sayyed from the Sayyed Galal Hospital in Cairo told
BBC.
Soon after Mubarak's speech, demonstrators remained on the streets
Saturday, with a group of 20 to 30 men ransacking a neighbourhood
National Democratic Party (NDP) office and burning contents
including plaques. Firing of tear-gas canisters could also be
heard.
In Cairo, protesters set afire several police vehicles and stormed
the foreign and information ministries. The headquarters of the
NDP were looted and set ablaze.
As the uprising rapidly spread through Egypt, US President Barack
Obama asked Mubarak to make good on his promises and avoid a
violent response to the thousands of protesters in the streets.
Obama spoke with Mubarak shortly after the latter addressed his
country saying he was asking his government to make way for a new
one and pledging to address the concerns of thousand of Egyptians
protesting in Cairo's streets.
"I just spoke to him after his speech, and told him he has a
responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete
steps and actions that deliver on that promise," Obama said.
"Violence will not address the grievances of the Egyptian people.
Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away."
"This moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of
promise," Obama said, repeating his administration's call for the
Egyptian government to restore access to the internet and cell
phone service.
"There must be reform, political, social and economic reforms that
meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people," he said.
"In the absence of these reforms, grievances have built up over
time. The US will continue to stand up for the rights of the
Egyptian people and work with their government in pursuit of a
future that is more just, more free and more hopeful," he said.
Obama's remarks, delivered from State Dining Room, were the
strongest yet from the US, according to observers
The firmness of Obama's comments signalled that the crisis in
Egypt had passed a "critical turning point," the New York Times
said citing an unnamed senior American official.
"Regardless of whether Mubarak survives, the upheaval has already
transformed Egyptian politics and how the US will handle a leader
long seen as a stable anchor in a turbulent region," the official
was quoted as saying.
Egypt receives about $1.3 billion in military aid from Washington
every year, second only to Israel, and has received nearly $30
billion in economic aid since 1975, according to State Department
figures.
As Egypt smouldered, Mubarak said he "regrets innocent victims on
both sides".
He repeated promises to work toward improving Egyptians' standard
of living, increase employment opportunities and improve health
care.
Satellite broadcaster Al Arabiya reported that more than 1,000
people had been injured in Friday's clashes.
Internet and mobile communications were cut Friday across Egypt,
after social-networking websites used to organise protests were
blocked earlier in the week.
Sajjid al-Badawi, head of the liberal Wafd opposition party, gave
a press conference Friday night demanding a transitional
government and changes to the Egyptian constitution.
World governments have weighed in heavily on the ongoing violence,
urging peace and calm and calling on the Egyptian government to
respect protesters' freedoms of speech and assembly.
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