Hosni Mubarak left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to sources and officials, after protesters marched on his main presidential palace and held vast rallies across Egypt.

NBC News reported Mubarak had left from Almaza military airport with his family, citing a high-ranking official and a security source, and the news was later confirmed by a local government official.

However, the significance of the move was unclear as Mubarak regularly travels to the resort town on the southern tip of the Sinai region, where he has a palace.

Mubarak passed most of his powers to Vice President Omar Suleiman Thursday night, rebuffing the demands of hundreds of thousands of demonstrators that he step down immediately.

U.S. officials told NBC News that despite confusion over a speech by Mubarak Thursday — in which he appeared to suggest he was still ultimately in charge — the Obama administration was confident that Suleiman was now running the country.

Read the entire story at msnbc.com