Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq Steps Down

Protesters saw Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq as too closely associated to Mubarak's rule and demanded his resignation in a bid to purge the political system, observers say. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has resigned, the country's ruling military council has announced in a statement.

"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decided to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and appointed Essam Sharaf to form the new government," the army said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Shafiq was appointed days before President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office following days of anti-government protests.

Protesters saw Shafiq as too closely associated to Mubarak's rule and demanded his resignation in a bid to purge the political system, observers say.

82-year-old Hosni Mubarak resigned as President of Egypt on February 11 under popular pressure and eighteen days of massive street protests.

Hosni Mubarak was the President of Egypt for almost 30 years - from October 1981 till February 2011. He was brought down by a "social network revolution" as the April 6th Youth Movement used Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to start protests against the regime, which grew to attract massive popular support.

Egypt's armed forces will be in control of the country presiding over an expected transition to democratic government with free elections.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!