Egypt's state-owned media reported that Mubarak named a governor of the
Sinai Peninsula as the next intelligence chief, Middle East Newsline reported. The appointee was identified
as Gen. Murad Mowafi, who served as governor of northern Sinai.
Mowafi was directed to replace Maj. Gen. Omar Suleiman, intelligence
chief since 1993. On Jan. 29, the 74-year-old Suleiman was appointed as
Mubarak's first vice president in his 30-year tenure.
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Egyptian sources said Mowafi was instrumental in quelling Bedouin unrest
in Sinai. They said Mowafi would be responsible for both domestic and
foreign intelligence.
Mowafi marked another appointment by Mubarak amid calls for his
resignation. In the Cabinet reshuffle, the president kept his defense and
interior ministers while ordering the new prime minister, former Air Force
commander Ahmed Shafik, to launch a dialogue with the opposition. The
opposition was expected to be led by former International Atomic Energy
Agency director-general Mohammed El Baradei.
On Feb. 1, the opposition was scheduled to stage a "million-man march"
to pressure Mubarak to resign. Egypt's military and security forces were
expected to block demonstrators from reaching central Cairo. Hours earlier,
more than 250,000 gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focus of the
anti-regime campaign.
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