Egypt Military Rejects Cabinet Resignation

Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Monday rejected the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet, state television reported, quoting a military source.

Cabinet spokesman Mohammed Hegazy said earlier that the cabinet had resigned, as deadly clashes raged for a third day in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The clashes have left 24 people dead and plunged Egypt into its worst crisis since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February.

"The government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has handed its resignation to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," Hegazy said in a statement carried by the official MENA news agency.

"Owing to the difficult circumstances the country is going through, the government will continue working" until the resignation is accepted, he said.

The government expressed "deep regret over the painful events, and based on this it handed its resignation (on Sunday) to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces."

The current political turbulence threatens to derail parliamentary elections scheduled for November 28 -- the first polls since the ouster of Mubarak in February.

Sharaf was appointed in March to massive nationwide support, but the same protesters who carried him on their shoulders in Tahrir Square to celebrate his nomination gradually turned into his fiercest critics, slamming his weakness in the face of the SCAF.

He ignored numerous calls for his resignation in recent months, saying while his resignation would turn him into "a national hero", he would stick to the job in order to fulfill the goals of the revolution.

But 10 months after Mubarak's ouster, protesters have vehemently denounced Sharaf's government and the ruling military council which they accuse of trying to maintain a grip on power.

In Tahrir Square, protesters welcomed the news of the resignation.

"Good. Now SCAF must resign, and we need to hold them accountable," said teacher Tarek Sabri, 35.

Political forces have repeatedly criticized the SCAF for not giving the cabinet its full prerogatives.

"We need a government with full powers," said Mohammed al-Hita, a leading activist with the National Association for Change set up by former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

"Any government under the same restrictions by SCAF will be worthless," said the 24-year-old.

Activists and parties behind the uprising that toppled Mubarak have called for a mass rally on Tuesday to demand that the army cede power to civilian rule.