CAIRO, Feb 11, (Agencies): Egypt exploded with joy, tears, and relief after President Hosni Mubarak resigned as president, forced out by 18 days of mass protests that culminated in huge marches Friday on his presidential palaces and state television. The military took power after protesters called for it to intervene and oust their leader of three decades. “The people ousted the regime,” rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square and outside Mubarak’s main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital. The crowds in Cairo, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and other cities around the country danced, chanted “goodbye, goodbye,” and raised their hands in prayer in an ecstatic pandemonium as fireworks and car horns sounded after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.

“Finally we are free,” said Safwan Abou Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palacer. “From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.” Mubarak had sought to cling to power, handing some of his authorities to Suleiman while keeping his title. But an explosion of protests Friday rejecting the move appeared to have pushed the military into forcing him out completely. Hundreds of thousands marched throughout the day in cities across the country as soliders stood by, besieging his palace in Cairo and Alexandria and the state TV building. A governor of a southern province was forced to flee to safety in the face of protests there. His fall came 32 years to the day after the collapse of the shah’s government in Iran.

Middle East
The protests have already echoed around the Middle East, with several of the region’s autocratic rulers making pre-emptive gestures of democratic reform to avert their own protest movements. The lesson many took: If it could happen in three weeks in Egypt, where Mubarak’s lock on power had appeared unshakeable, it could happen anywhere. The United States at times seemed overwhelmed trying to keep up with the pace, fumbling to juggle its advocacy of democracy and the right to protest, loyalty to longtime ally Mubarak and fears of Muslim fundamentalists gaining a foothold. Neighoring Israel watched the development with growing unease, worried that their 1979 peace treaty could be in danger. It quickly demanded on Friday that post-Mubarak Egypt continue to adhere to it.

Friday was the biggest day of protests yet in the upheaval that began Jan. 25. The movement grew for the Internet organizing of small groups of youth activists into a mass movement that tapped into widespread discontent with Mubarak’s authoritarian lock on power, corruption, economic woes and widespread disparities between rich and poor. The question now turned to how the military, long Egypt’s most powerful institution and now its official ruler, will handle the transition in power. Earlier in the day, the Armed Forces Supreme Council — the military’s top body — vowed to guide the country to greater democracy. State TV said a new statement by the military would be issued Friday evening. Vice-President Suleiman — who appears to have lost his post as well in the military takeover — appeared grim as he delivered the short announcement. “In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” he said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”

Greatest
Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, “This is the greatest day of my life.”
“The country has been liberated after decades of repression,” he said adding that he expects a “beautiful” transition of power.
Outside Mubarak’s Oruba Palace in northern Cairo, women on balconies ululated with the joyous tongue-trilling used to mark weddings and births.
“Finally we are free,” said Safwan Abo Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palace. “From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.”
Another, Mohammed el-Masry, weeping with joy, said he had spent the past two weeks in Tahrir before marching to the palace Friday. He was now headed back to the square to join his ecstatic colleagues. “We made it,” he gasped.
One Egyptian kissed the ground. Another rolled in ecstasy in the grass outside a presidential palace. People wept, jumped, screamed and hugged each other with a shared joy they had never known. Cairo erupted in a cacophony of celebration: fireworks and car horns and gunshots in the air.
“The people have toppled the regime,” chanted protesters, whose 18 days of swelling protests tipped Egypt into a crisis that the autocratic government could not undo.
“This is the happiest day in my generation,” said Ali al-Tayab, a 24-year-old demonstrator who paid tribute to those who died in clashes with police and Mubarak supporters. “To the martyrs, this is your day.”

At a presidential palace in Cairo, where demonstrators had gathered in the thousands, people flashed the V-for-victory sign and shouted, “Be happy, Egyptians, today is a feast” and “He stepped down.”
Many prayed and declared: “God is great.”
Crowds began to move toward Tahrir Square, the scene of massive protests against Mubarak that began on Jan. 25.
It was a day after an exultant crowd had gathered on the square for what they expected would be the president’s televised announcement that he would resign. Instead they were shocked to hear him say he would transfer power to his deputy, but keep the title. Angry and disappointed, hundreds of protesters fanned out across the city on Friday.
Vice President Omar Suleiman then announced that his boss had resigned.
“Finally, we are free,” said 60-year-old Safwan Abou Stat. “From now on, anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.”
In some neighborhoods, women on balconies ululated with the joyous tongue-trilling used to mark weddings and births. Some sang the national anthem.
Mohammed el-Masry, who marched to the presidential palace, said he had spent the past two weeks living in the protest encampment at Tahrir Square.
“We are going to Tahrir to celebrate,” he said, weeping with joy. “We made it.”

Assets
Switzerland has frozen assets that may belong to Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30 years of rule, the foreign ministry said.
“I can confirm that Switzerland has frozen possible assets of the former Egyptian president with immediate effect,” spokesman Lars Knuchel said soon after Mubarak bowed to 18 days of mass protests. “As a result of this measure any assets are frozen for three years.”
He did not say how much money was involved or where it was.
Assets belonging to Mubarak’s associates would also be targeted so as to limit the chance of state funds being plundered, the ministry said. Mubarak and his associates would be prevented from selling or otherwise disposing of property, notably real estate.
In recent years, Switzerland has worked hard to improve its image as a haven for ill-gotten assets.
It has also frozen assets belonging to Tunisia’s former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, ousted by popular protests last month, and Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down after an election which the outside world says he lost.
US President Barack Obama was poised on Friday to welcome Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to step down but Washington now faces deep uncertainty and big challenges in dealing with Egypt’s potentially volatile transition of power.

Washington had walked a fine line since the demonstrations began, endorsing the democratic aspirations of the protesters but trying not to openly abandon a long-time ally or encourage an abrupt upheaval that could spill over into other parts of the oil-rich Middle East.
Obama, who has repeatedly pressed for an orderly transition to democracy, now faces the challenge of backing broad political reform in the Arab world’s most populous country while keeping Islamists from ending up with enough power to undermine US interests in the region.
He will face the test of keeping the power shift in Cairo from unnerving Middle East allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel or emboldening foes like Iran and al Qaeda.
US officials will now do everything possible to keep intact close ties with the powerful Egyptian army, which relies heavily on US aid and is seen as the key to keeping the situation from descending into chaos.
“The president was informed of President Mubarak’s decision to step down during a meeting in the Oval Office. He then watched TV coverage of the scene in Cairo for several minutes in the outer Oval (office),” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

Reaction
World leaders hailed Hosni Mubarak’s decision on Friday to step down as Egyptian president after 30 years in power, saying they shared the joy of Egyptians and hoped the transition to democracy would be peaceful.
“Today is a day of great joy,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference. “We are all witness to historic change. I share the joy of people on the streets of Egypt.”
The most eagerly anticipated reaction was expected from Washington, where President Barack Obama was due to make an address later on Friday. The White House said he watched scenes from Cairo on TV after being told Mubarak stepped down.
Vice President Joe Biden called it a “pivotal” moment in the history of Egypt and the Middle East.
European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said: “By standing down, (Mubarak) has listened to the voices of the Egyptian people and has opened the way to faster and deeper reforms.”
“It is important now that the dialogue is accelerated, leading to a broad-based government which will respect the aspirations of, and deliver stability for, the Egyptian people.”
Switzerland said it was freezing assets potentially belonging to the former Egyptian leader.
A senior Israeli official said Israel hoped Mubarak’s resignation would not bring any change to relations with Cairo.

Officials in Israel have expressed worry that Mubarak’s successors might distance themselves from the peace treaty between the two countries, one of the cornerstones of Middle Eastern diplomacy but unpopular with many Egyptians.
“It’s too early to foresee how (the resignation) will affect things,” the official said. “We hope that the change to democracy in Egypt will happen without violence and that the peace accord will remain.”
Germany’s Merkel also called on Egypt to respect the treaty with Israel and said those now in charge should ensure that developments were “irreversible and peaceful”.
In Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that has been jointly blockaded by Israel and Mubarak’s Egypt, residents let off fireworks and fired guns into the air in celebration.
Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza, called on Egypt’s new leaders to lift the blockade.
“The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the beginning of the victory of the Egyptian revolution,” he said. “Such a victory was the result of the sacrifices and the steadfastness of the Egyptian people.”
Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab league and himself an Egyptian, described the popular revolt as a “white revolution” that would provide an opportunity. He said he would work to help build national consensus in his homeland.
Within the wider Arab world, the royal council of the Emir of Qatar called the resignation “a positive, important step towards the Egyptian people’s aspirations of achieving democracy and reform and a life of dignity.”

Israel hopes that the transition of power in Egypt after the departure of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be conducted “smoothly,” a government official told AFP on Friday.
“We hope that the transition to democracy, for Egypt and for its neighbours, will be done smoothly,” the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity shortly after Mubarak stepped down after 30 years in power and handed control to the Egyptian army.
Fireworks have erupted in the Lebanese capital after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt’s president.
Moments after Egypt’s Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement, the fireworks lit up the sky Friday night. Celebratory gunfire could be heard in the Shiite dominated areas in south Lebanon and in southern Beirut.
On al-Manar TV, the station run by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah faction, Egyptian anchor Amr Nassef cried emotionally on the air and said: “Allahu Akbar, the Pharaoh is dead. Am I dreaming? I’m afraid to be dreaming.”

Gaza
Palestinians in Gaza let off fireworks and shot into the air to celebrate the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday, and the Islamist group Hamas called on Egypt’s new rulers to change his policies.
“The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the beginning of the victory of the Egyptian revolution,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
“Such a victory was the result of the sacrifices and the steadfastness of the Egyptian people,” he told Reuters.
Gaza residents heard gunfire erupt across the city when news of Mubarak’s departure spread, and fireworks lit up the sky.
The tiny coastal enclave of Gaza shares a border with Israel and Egypt. Both countries have imposed strict limitations on the movement of people and goods since Hamas took control of the territory, hampering Gaza’s economy.
“We call upon the new Egyptian leadership to take an immediate decision to lift the blockade of Gaza and open Rafah (border) crossing permanently to allow people’s free movement and in order for the reconstruction process of Gaza to begin,” said Abu Zuhri.