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Military

Egyptian prime minister resigns, ex-transport minister to form new government

RIA Novosti

13:34 03/03/2011 CAIRO, March 3 (RIA Novosti) - Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq resigned on Thursday, the country's governing military council said on its official Facebook page.

A former transport minister, Essam Sharaf, was asked to form a new government.

Shafiq had been picked to head the cabinet by Hosni Mubarak before the Egyptian president stepped down on February 11, after 18 days of large-scale anti-government protests that broke out in Cairo and quickly spread throughout Egypt, leaving more than 350 people dead and some 5,500 injured.

Calls for the departure of Shafiq's cabinet have escalated over the past week. Many opposition activists maintain that he is closely associated with Mubarak's regime.



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