By DPA,
Cairo : Egypt’s newly-appointed prime minister Essam Sharaf named a new interior minister Sunday, a day after protesters stormed state security offices in key cities in a bid to prevent the destruction of official records.
According to a post on the government’s Facebook page, General Mansour el-Essawi would replace Mohmoud Wagdi who was appointed by then president Hosni Mubarak in the wake of the violent crackdown on protesters by security forces Jan 28.
The announcement comes a day after protesters forced their way into State Security Investigations Service offices in Cairo and Alexandria Saturday after seeing black smoke, presumed to be from burning documents, coming from the buildings.
Protesters said they found documents burnt, cut and shredded inside the offices, fuelling suspicions that officers from the service were trying to destroy evidence.
Activists have been calling on Egypt’s transitional military government to suspend the State Security Investigations Service, which has been blamed for the violence against protesters that left more than 350 dead.
However, the interior ministry is studying a plan to restructure the security body, state media reported.
Sharaf took over following weeks of protests, with activists demanding a purge of all ministers appointed by Mubarak, who held key portfolios of justice, interior and foreign affairs.