Egypt Army: Morsi is Out

Military names interim leader, calls new elections
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2013 12:04 PM CDT
Updated Jul 3, 2013 2:20 PM CDT
Morsi Camp: Coup Is On
Opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi shout slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. Arabic reads, "Leave."   (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Mohamed Morsi is no longer the president of Egypt, the military declared today. The army's commander also said that the nation's constitution has been suspended and that an interim leader will take command until new elections take place, reports AP. Earlier, Morsi's camp declared via tweet that "a FULL MILITARY COUP" was underway, with tanks in the streets. In a lengthy Facebook post, Morsi's assistant on foreign relations writes, "Let's call what is happening by its real name: Military coup."

  • BBC Arabic reports that military vehicles are indeed in the streets, and a Reuters witness reports seeing "several hundred Egyptian soldiers" parading down a main road near the presidential palace. And the Wall Street Journal adds that troops have reportedly surrounded pro-Morsi demonstrations in Cairo.

  • A spokesman for an opposition coalition tells the Daily Beast that Morsi is under house arrest. Morsi has spent the day working normally in a Republican Guard compound in the suburbs of Cairo, but it's unclear if he can leave, an aide tells Reuters.
  • Morsi today rejected the military's deadline, but he did offer to share power in a consensus-based coalition government, al-Jazeera reports.
  • The military has imposed a travel ban on members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the LA Times reports.
  • The US State Department says it's "very concerned" about the unfolding situation in Egypt.
  • And it's not alone. In what can only be regarded as a supreme act of irony, Syria's government today said that the crisis "can be overcome if Mohamed Morsi realizes that the overwhelming majority of the Egyptian people reject him and are calling for him to go."
(More Mohamed Morsi stories.)

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