Egyptian Cabinet submits resignation

The Egyptian Cabinet has formally submitted its resignation after President Hosni Mubarak ordered the dismissal of his ministers in an attempt to quell anti-government protests.

The Egyptian outgoing cabinet held a meeting, headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, on Saturday to formally submit its resignation.

Egyptians woke up to another day of protest on Saturday as hundreds of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in the capital Cairo despite Mubarak’s announcement of sacking the government and the overnight curfew.

Emboldened by the recent popular revolution in Tunisia, which put an end to the 23-year-long reign of the country’s President Zine El Abidin Ben Ali, Egyptians have marched in several cities since Tuesday to bring an end to Mubarak’s three-decade rule.

On Saturday, medical sources stated that 23 protesters have lost their lives in streets fighting with police forces in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, while 13 people were killed and 75 others injured in the flash point city of Suez, along the strategic Suez Canal.

The mobile phone service, which was blocked in the wake of the anti-government demonstrations, was partly resumed Saturday morning, but the Internet service is still unavailable, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

On Friday, Mubarak fired his cabinet ministers and called for national dialogue in an attempt to staunch the flow of public outcry over poverty, high unemployment rates and rampant corruption.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for an end to violence in Egypt and urged the government to respect freedom of speech.

“One of the ground principles of democracy is to protect and ensure the freedom of speech of the people,” the UN chief told reporters in Davos, Switzerland.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay also called on the Egyptian government to exercise restraint, and to initiate investigations into reports of the use of excessive force and killing of civilians.