Mubarak Steps Down
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his family have left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, proving he is giving up his presidential powers, a ruling party official said on Friday.
Protesters seeking Mubarak’s overthrow moved overnight to the Ittihadiya presidential palace in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis for the first time since demonstrations began on Jan. 25.
“President Mubarak has begun carrying out the transfer of his authorities to his deputy Omar Suleiman by heading to Sharm el-Sheikh,” Mohammed Abdillah, head of media with the National Democratic Party, told Reuters. “President Mubarak is intent on carrying out his vows to himself.”
Al Arabiya television station reported that it had confirmed the arrival of the president, who said on Thursday he was handing powers to Vice President Suleiman, and his family in the tourist town.
In Cairo, protesters gathered up against a barbed wire cordon around the presidential palace, about 50 meters from the palace walls at its closest point. Tanks and soldiers of the elite Republican Guard, responsible for the president’s security, surrounded the palace, a Reuters witness said.
“The Republican Guard are protecting the presidential palaces,” an armed forces source told Reuters.
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