Mubarak steps down, army takes over

"The people ousted the president," chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential palace in Cairo.

Egypt thus scripted history after 18 days of unrelenting protests calling for an end to the 30-year old iron-fisted rule of Mubarak. Vice President Omar Suleiman made a one sentence announcement to say that Mubarak, who has left Cairo with his family for the Sharm-el-Sheikh resort in the Sinai, had stepped down.

Suleiman said a Higher Military Council comprising senior officials would govern the country till elections in September and ensure smooth transition of power. Soon after the announcement, the Council stepped in and took over the governance of Egypt.

Minutes later, there was wild celebration in Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square. People cheered and there was honking as people shouted that Egypt was free. Many cried and broke down, unable to express their joy.

"Egypt is free, Egypt is free", chanted tens of thousands of jubilant protesters waving banners and placards in Tahrir Square to welcome the announcement of Mubarak finally stepping down after 30 years in power.

Mubarak steps down, army takes over

Reacting to the development, US Vice President Joe Biden said, "Violence is totally unacceptable." India too welcomed Mubarak's departure. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, "We welcome the decision of President Mubarak."

Mubarak had sought to cling to power, handing some of his authorities to 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 soliders 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."

Mubarak Egypt! Hosni forced out, Army steps in

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, "This is the greatest day of my life."

"The country has been liberated after decades of repression," he said adding that he expects a "beautiful" transition of power.

Outside Mubarak's Oruba Palace in northern Cairo, women on balconies ululated with the joyous tongue-trilling used to mark weddings and births.

"Finally we are free," said Safwan Abo Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palace. "From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great."

Another, Mohammed el-Masry, weeping with joy, said he had spent the past two weeks in Tahrir before marching to the palace Friday. He was now headed back to the square to join his ecstatic colleagues. "We made it," he gasped.

Mubarak Egypt! Hosni forced out, Army steps in

The question now turned to how the military, Egypt's most powerful institution, will handle the transition in power. Earlier in the day, the Armed Forces Supreme Council -- a body of top generals -- vowed to guide the country to greater democracy.

In a statement hours before Suleiman's announcement, it said it was committed "to sponsor the legitimate demands of the people and endeavorfor their implementation within a defined timetable ... until achieving a peaceful transition all through a democratic society aspired by the people."

Abdel-Rahman Samir, one of the youth organizers of the protests, said the protest movement would now open negotiations with the military over democratic reform but vowed protests would continue to ensure change is carried out.

"We still don't have any guarantees yet -- if we end the whole situation now the it's like we haven't done anything," he said. "So we need to keep sitting in Tahrir until we get all our demands."

But, he added, "I feel fantastic. .... I feel like we have worked so hard, we planted a seed for a yera and a half and now we are now finally sowing the fruits."

Mubarak Egypt! Hosni forced out, Army steps in

Earlier, there were reports that Mubarak had fled to an `unknown destination' as protesters fanned out to the presidential palace in Cairo and other key symbols of the authoritarian regime in a new push to force the leader to step down immediately.

While Egypt's state TV reported that Mubarak will deliver a statement live from his palace, earlier Egyptian media reports suggested that Mubarak had already departed to the Sinai resort of Sharm El Sheikh onboard a military airplane and was accompanied by chief of staff of the armed forces, Lt. Gen. Sami Annan, Al Arabiya TV said.

Other local reports indicated that Mubarak has flown to an "unknown" destination. US-based Al-Hurra TV reported that Mubarak was flying toward the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was expected in Dubai in an hour.

Reports about the whereabouts of the 82-year old leader came amid growing speculation about the nature of power transition in the country. The protesters had been gathering in increasing numbers at Tahrir Square since Jan 25 to demand Mubarak's ouster.

Mubarak, who has been continuously ruling the country since 1981, had earlier said that he would be ready to leave after his term ends in September, but not now. He even warned of chaos if he left now.

The protests had turned violent last week, leaving atleast 13 people dead and over 1,000 injured.

Source: AP & India Syndicate