February 13, 2011 1:10 PM

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Egypt: Supreme Council of Armed Forces pledges to enact a smooth transition to civilian rule

Egypt's military leadership has vowed to oversee a “peaceful transition” to democracy and pledged its commitment to all international treaties. The military said this a day after Hosni Mubarak bowed out as President in the wake of an unprecedented uprising against his 30-year rule. In a statement in Cairo, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which is now incharge of the administration in the post-Mubarak Egypt, gave no timeline for the changeover. The military also banned top officials from travelling outside the country to ensure that former presidential loyalists do not flee.The Council said, the present government would remain in place until a transition to an elected government is achieved. In a televised statement, it said it will pave the way for an elected civil authority to build a free democratic state. In what comes as an assurance to Israel, the military also vowed to respect the regional and international treaties that Egypt has committed to in the past.The statement is expected to allay the concerns in Israel which is anxious that a change in leadership in Egypt could hamper the 1979 Camp David accords.Celebrations have refused to die down in an emotionally-charged Egypt. Thousands of people have been rejoicing since Friday night when Vice President Omar Suleiman appeared on television to announce that Mubarak had finally stepped down. Thousands of people still remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the centre of the 18-day uprising in Egypt. The army, which has come in for praise for its handling of the protesters, removed barricades and barbed wire at the now iconic Tahrir Square.Men, women and children, lauded the world over for their near violence-free revolution, joined in to clean the streets, collecting rubbish as tanks still lurked on the sides of main roads.

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