Hosni M.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down and the vice president has named a military council to run the country’s affairs, state television said on Friday after 18 days of mass protests against his rule.

A ruling party official said earlier that Mubarak and his family had left Cairo for the glitzy Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where there is a presidential residence. He added that this proved Mubarak had handed powers to deputy Omar Suleiman.

In the morning, Egypt’s powerful military gave guarantees that promised democratic reforms would be carried out but angry protesters intensified an uprising against Mubarak by marching on the presidential palace and mobbing the state television hub.

The army’s gesture was an effort to defuse an 18-day-old revolt unprecedented in modern Egypt but, in ignoring the key demand of protesters for Mubarak’s ouster now, it failed to stop turmoil disrupting the economy and rattling the Middle East.

Mubarak had promised only that he would not for re-election in September and that he would preside over reforms until then.

This was not enough for the many hundreds of thousands of mistrustful protesters who rallied in cities across the Arab world’s most populous and influential country on Friday, fed up with high unemployment, a corrupt elite and police repression.

The escalating confrontation has raised fear of uncontrolled violence in the most populous Arab nation, a key US ally in an oil-rich region where the chance of chaos spreading to other long stable but repressive states troubles the West.

Hundreds of thousands of worshippers had thronged Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 18-day revolt, where they called on the army to assist with Mubarak’s overthrow a day after he vowed to stay on until September.

“The greatest revolution of the world is unfolding here. The army must immediately take the decision to overthrow Mubarak, even by force,” Mohammed, 60, said as he stood next to the tanks guarding Egypt’s famed national museum.

Elsewhere in the crowd, a small girl sitting on her father’s soldiers led dozens of curious protesters in chants against Mubarak’s son Gamal, once seen as his likely successor: “Hey Gamal, tell your father the Egyptians hate him.”

But as news of Mubarak’s departure spread, the protesters sharpened their demands, saying the entire regime had to go.

They spoke of the corruption they said was endemic to government ministries and Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP), demanding that officials be held accountable in court and stripped of their ill-gotten gains.

“Our demands are clear. We want the entire NDP to be dissolved and to leave, because they ruined the country,” said Magdi Sabri, a smartly dressed doctor with the protesters at the television building.

A few minutes later the joyful chanting resumed with new lyrics: “Oh army, we are done! Hosni is not our president.”

Reuter and SAPA

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