Egyptian Armed Forces Promise to Respect International Agreements

Egyptian armed forces pledged on Saturday that the country will respect its international agreements, in a nod to concerns about the treaty of Egyptian-Israeli peace, which deposed President Hosni Mubarak respected to the letter.

The military also asked the current government, appointed by Mubarak before his fall, to continue in office until the formation of a new one, and made a commitment to eventually hand over power to an elected government.

This statement was the first indication of the next steps after the fall of Mubarak, but did not answer the question of how long they intend to continue in power, AP reported.

Meanwhile, jubilant protesters vowed to remain camped in a central Cairo square to be sure that the armed forces fulfill their demands for democracy.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces forbade the former regime officials to travel abroad and relaxed a nighttime curfew, officials and state television.

Mubarak transferred power to the military on Friday after a 18-day uprising of millions of protesters demanding his dismissal and the adoption of democratic reforms in this country of 80 million people.

The cleanup started on Saturday in Tahrir, Liberation Square, although there were still thousands of people.

Burned vehicles were removed while some people with masks swept the streets and trash heaps retreating, the soldiers removed the roadblocks to clear at least one path to the square.

Many were hung notices saying “Sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re building Egypt.”

The protesters were divided about his tenure and people kept coming to the plaza for the controls.

Some folded their makeshift tents, returned the blankets donated by charitable Islamic organizations and returned to their home. Others remained until the army, which has promised to guide the reforms for greater democracy, promised to issue the statement, the fourth since the beginning of the crisis.

“We’ll see how the military makes a democratic transfer of power. We have to wait,’’said Ali Mohammed, a sales manager who camped in the square.

Under a banner proclaiming “ the people succeeded in overthrowing the regime,”two other demonstrators consider whether they should leave the square.

Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a member of the coalition that encouraged protests, said they have no unified leadership to determine their departure, although there is consensus that the plaza will not be emptied until you speak the army.

“The army did not specify what he intends to do the next few days, so here we are and here we’ll stay,’’said Abdel-Hamid.