Cairo, Feb 3 (PTI) Egypt's embattled President Hosni Mubarak today said he wants to leave office, but fears that the country would descend into chaos if he resigns.
The 82-year-old President who has been in power since 1981 said he was "fed-up with being president and would like to leave office now, but cannot, he says, for fear that the country would sink into chaos," Mubarak was quoted as saying by ABC News.
Blaming the main opposition party Muslim Brotherhood for the recent anti-government protest in the country, Mubarak said his government is not responsible for it."I am troubled by the violence we have seen in Tahrir Square over the last few days but that his government is not responsible for it", ABC News reported quoting the President.
When asked about the violence that his supporters launched against the anti-government protestors in Cairo's Tahrir Square--the epicentre of anti-government demonstrations, Mubarak said, "I was very unhappy about yesterday.I do not want to see Egyptians fighting each other."
"I don't care what people say about me. Right now I care about my country, I care about Egypt," Mubarak said as violence escalated on the 10th day of wave of protests across the country.The Egyptian President said he felt relief after delivering the speech on Monday when he said he would not run for president again.
On the possibility of his son Gamal, who was once widely considered to be his successor, Mubarak said it was never his intention to have his son follow him into office, ABC reported.
Pledging his loyalty to Egypt, he said, "I would never run away, I will die on this soil. Defending his legacy, he recounted the many years he has spent leading his country.This was Mubarak's first interview since anti-government protests across Egypt began 10 days ago. PTI
