Mubarak will most probably quit, official says

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Mubarak will " most probably " quit, official says

By Hammond and Dziadosz | Reuters – 21 minutes ago

CAIRO (Reuters) - The fate of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak will be decided in

a matter of hours and " most probably " he will step down, an Egyptian official

told Reuters on Thursday.

The NBC network said the president would step down on Thursday night.

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq earlier told Britain's BBC that Mubarak may

step down and the situation in the country will be clarified soon, the British

broadcaster said.

Egypt's military announced it was taking measures to preserve the nation and

aspirations of the people after a meeting of the Higher Army Council.

The statement, from an army spokesman on state television came as pressure

mounted on Mubarak, 82, to end his 30-year rule. The president has been buffeted

by widespread protests against poverty, repression and corruption in the most

populous Arab nation.

The meeting of the Higher Army Council was headed by the defense minister and

Mubarak was not present, according to television footage.

" The Higher Army Council held a meeting today under Hussein Tantawi the head of

the armed forces and minister of defense to discuss the necessary measures and

preparations to protect the nation, its gains and the aspirations of the

people, " the state news agency MENA said.

" The council decided to remain in continuous session to discuss measures that

can be taken in this regard. "

Pro-democracy protesters consolidated a new encampment around Cairo's parliament

building and the main focus of the opposition, Tahrir, or Liberation, Square

remained crowded.

Organizers were promising another major push on the streets on Friday when

protesters said they plan to move on to the state radio and television building

in " The Day of Martyrs " dedicated to the dead which the United Nations says

could number 300.

Washington has pressured Mubarak to speed up the pace of reform but has stopped

short of demanding the resignation of the president of Egypt which has a peace

treaty with Israel and an army which receives about $1.3 billion in U.S. aid a

year.

(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul, Tom , Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Hammond,

Dziadosz, Yasmine Saleh, Sherine El Madany, Werr, Edmund

Blair, and Alison in Cairo, and

Dokoupil in Dubai, Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Stamp in London and

Rohan in Berlin; Writing by Alastair Macdonald and ship;