CAIRO - Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi Friday inspected the Army troops stationed in Al Tahrir Square in central Cairo, official TV reported. It gave no further details. His inspection tour comes hours before opponents to President Hosni Mubarak start a massive protest on what they dub "Friday of Departure", demanding Mubarak's immediate departure. This was the first visit to the epicentre of protests that have convulsed Egypt by a senior minister since they erupted on Jan. 25. The president has responded by saying he would not seek another term in office and pledged sweeping political reforms. Protesters said Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi was talking to the army, who have surrounded the square with tanks and armoured vehicles but who have not prevented demonstrators from gathering there. “The army and people are united,” the protesters chanted after a protester announced over loudspeakers that the minister was in the square.
