Suleiman warns of possible coup

CAIRO, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Egypt's vice president Wednesday warned anti-government demonstrators of a possible military coup if they don't disband and end their protests.

The warning came as Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit headed for Washington and meetings with U.S. officials, at the same time accusing the United States of trying to tell Egypt what to do.

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman called the continued protests, which began Jan. 25, "very dangerous," the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We can't put up with this at all," Suleiman said. "We don't want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools," adding that if the protests continue, "a coup happens, which would mean uncalculated and hasty steps, including lots of irrationalities."

The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, accused the army, which has been seen as a calming influence, of detaining and torturing demonstrators. Spokesman Muhammad Mursi said as many as 100 people had been tortured.

The army Wednesday blocked the major road into downtown Cairo as demonstrators expanded from Tahrir Square to the street fronting Parliament, blocking access.

"It's not OK what you are doing here," Gen. Hassan Ruwaini told demonstrators. "If you want to protest go to Tahrir." The protesters, however, refused to leave.

U.S. officials again urged Egyptian officials to start taking concrete steps toward reform to appease demonstrators.

Tahrir Square activists said they would not be tricked by government concessions, which many protesters considered small favors designed to split the opposition and sap support for the 3-week-old uprising, The Wall Street Journal reported.

After two days in which some activists feared the movement had begun to wane, the uprising received new vigor Tuesday after Google Inc. executive and activist Wael Ghonim appeared in an emotional interview on Monday's popular "Ten P.M." broadcast 2 hours after he was released by Egyptian authorities.

Ghonim, who administered a Facebook page that played a key role in mobilizing the early anti-government protests, told of how he had been kidnapped by Egyptian authorities and secretly detained, blindfolded, for 12 days as the demonstrations gathered force.

Mubarak, 82, in power for 30 years, says he will not step down but will not stand for re-election in September.

Separately, state television reported former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly would face charges before a military tribunal related to last week's violence in Tahrir Square and the early New Year's Day deadly bombing of a church in Alexandria.