After 18 days of populist uprising, crowds erupted into ecstatic cheers in Cairo today as their long-embattled president Hosni Mubarak finally gave up the presidency, ending a 30-year reign. ABC News reported that the country’s vice president Omar Suleiman announced the Egyptian armed forces will be taking control of the country for the time being. The one-minute television announcement included the following somber message from Suleiman: “My fellow citizens. In this difficult time that the country is going through, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak has decided to relieve himself of his position as president and the Supreme military council has taken control of the state’s affairs. May God protect us.” According to sources of ABC News, Mubarak has left the capital for his estate home near the coast approximately 250 miles from Cairo.
