Egypt's Mubarak to step down

CAIRO — Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is to step down tonight, two sources have told NBC News, losing his 30-year grip on power after 17 days of mass uprisings across the country.

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NBC's Richard Engel reported that a high-ranking source inside the president's office said the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was confirmed by a second source.

State television reported that country's supreme military council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands" of the protesters after an all-day meeting. The latest developments came on the heels of repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.

Some pro-democracy protesters reacted cautiously to the reports Mubarak was leaving, saying they would only believe them if and when he announced his departure on television.

President Barack Obama urged people to "wait and see." The president planned to comment on the situation at the start of a speech in Michigan at 1:30 p.m. EST, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Video: Live video from Cairo's Tahrir Square (on this page)

Mubarak would speak to the nation Thursday evening from his palace in Cairo and showed footage of the president meeting with Suleiman, Egyptian state TV reported.

There were unconfirmed reports that Mubarak had left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh or gone overseas, but sources told NBC News he was still in the capital.

Eyewitnesses told NBC News that Mubarak's residence was sealed off by tanks, troops and razor wire.

'Safeguard the nation'
The Associated Press reported that Mubarak was not present at Thursday's supreme council meeting, despite being the commander in chief of Egypt's armed forces. Suleiman, a former army general and intelligence chief named to his post after the protests erupted Jan. 25, also was not there.

Live blog: Police prepare for announcement

A spokesman read a statement that the council was in permanent session to explore "what measures and arrangements could be made to safeguard the nation, its achievements and the ambitions of its great people."

The statement was labeled "communique number 1," a phrasing that The Associated Press said suggested a military coup could be under way.

Video: Mubarak to step down (on this page)

Footage on state TV showed Defense Minster Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi chairing the meeting of two dozen stern-faced army officers seated around a table. At Tantawi's right was military chief of staff Gen. Sami Anan.

State TV announced that the supreme council had expressed its "support of the legitimate demands of the people."

A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest opposition group, said he feared the Egyptian army was staging a military coup.

"It looks like a military coup ... I feel worry and anxiety. The problem is not with the president it is with the regime," Essam al-Erian told Reuters.

State TV's parking lot was blocked with cement blocks and razor wire and only essential staff remained in its headquarters, NBC News reported.

Gen. Hassan al-Roueini, military commander for the Cairo area, told thousands of protesters in central Tahrir Square, "All your demands will be met today."

'Mission accomplished'
Protesters gathered in central Cairo roared their approval after reports came that Mubarak was to quit office.

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Some in the crowd held up their hands in V-for-victory signs, shouting "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," a victory cry used by secular and religious people alike.

"The army and the people in one hand, the army and the people are united," protesters chanted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, which has become the locus of the mass movement pressing for Mubarak’s ouster, al-Jazeera reported.

People chanted: "The people demand the fall of the regime, The regime has fallen." Others sang: "Civilian, civilian. We don't want it military" — a call for a freely elected civilian government. It remains to be seen how far the armed forces are ready to accept that.

"Mission accomplished. Thanks to all the brave young Egyptians #Jan25," Google executive and protest leader Wael Ghonim tweeted.

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Other protesters were more cautious.

Nguon : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41506482/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/?gt1=43001