By IANS,
Cairo/New York : Egypt’s powerful military has said that it is intervening in state affairs in an effort to quell the mass protests against President Hosni Mubarak that entered the 17th day Thursday, a media report said.
New York Times reported that the military declared on state television that it would take measures “to maintain the homeland and the achievements and the aspirations of the great people of Egypt”.
It also said that they would meet the demands of the protesters wanting an end to Mubarak’s nearly 30-years of uniterrupted rule.
There was intense speculation that Mubarak is likely to announce he will step down from office Thursday. The rumours caused jubilation among the tens of thousands of protesters at Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
The protests, which began Jan 25, quickly spread through the country. Seeing the spiralling protests, Mubarak said he is ready to step down at the end of his term in September, but not now. That, however, failed to cut ice with the protesters.
The US has been working on a proposal to have a transition government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman and supported by the military.