Mubarak Resigns

After 18 long days of protests and unrest, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has finally capitulated to the demands of the massive crowds of anti-government protesters that have flooded Cairo’s Tahrir Square and other cities around Egypt by stepping down late Friday and transferring control of the country to the military. –KA

AP via Google News:

Mubarak had sought to cling to power, handing some of his authorities to [Vice President Omar] Suleiman while keeping his title. But an explosion of protests Friday rejecting the move appeared to have pushed the military into forcing him out completely. Hundreds of thousands marched throughout the day in cities across the country as soldiers stood by, besieging his palace in Cairo and Alexandria and the state TV building. A governor of a southern province was forced to flee to safety in the face of protests there.

It was the biggest day of protests yet in the upheaval that began Jan. 25, growing from youth activists working on the Internet into a mass movement that tapped into widespread discontent with Mubarak’s authoritarian lock on power, corruption, economic woes and widespread disparities between rich and poor.

“In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” a grim-looking Suleiman said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”

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