THE head of Egypt's army says President Mohamed Morsi has been
overthrown as he presented a road map on a way forward for the country.
Egypt's
military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says Mr Morsi will be replaced by
chief justice of constitutional court.
It is
unclear where Mr Morsi is at the moment.
The news
was meet by triumphant cheers by thousands of people waving flags in Tahrir
Square.
Mr Morsi
had remained defiant and earlier released a statement saying he would not go.
The
Egyptian military was reported to have ordered a travel ban on Mr Morsi and
members of his Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Egyptian
media reported that officials at the Cairo airport were told to block prominent
Brotherhood officials from leaving the country.
CNN correspondent Ivan Watson tweets a picture of Egyptian
soldiers praying on the Jemaa bridge across the nile River at sunset in Cairo.
However two top Brotherhood officials told the Washington
Post that rumours that Mr Morsi and his
aides had been put under house arrest or barred from leaving the country were
incorrect.
"This
is not true. This is all empty talk,” said Abdullah Shehata, a prominent
Brotherhood member. "Everything is fine."
In a
statement, Mr Morsi warns that his electoral legitimacy is the only safeguard
against violence and instability. He said it was a mistake to "take
sides.''
"The
presidency envisions the formation of a consensus coalition government to
oversee the next parliamentary election,'' Mr Morsi's office said on Facebook.
Mr
Morsi's statement came shortly before the 5pm (1am AEST) expiry of a military
ultimatum for him to meet the demands of millions of protesters calling for his
ouster or the army will intervene to oversee its own political road map to end
the crisis.
By 6:30pm
military forces began moving around Cairo. Tanks and troops headed for the
presidential palace - although it was unclear whether Mr Morsi was inside
Egyptian children hold national flags as they pose for pictures
near army soldiers on an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in a Cairo street.
The
Egyptian military deployed armoured vehicles near Cairo demonstrations by supporters
of Mr Morsi.
Dozens of
armoured personnel carriers headed towards Cairo University where thousands of
Mr Morsi's supporters massed, vowing to defend his legitimacy.
The
official MENA news agency, citing a senior military official, said the armoured
carriers were also deployed in the capital's Heliopolis and Nasr City
neighbourhoods, where other protests were being held.
Tens of
thousands of people massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square for an anti-Morsi protest.
"We
do ... remain very concerned about what we're seeing on the ground," the
US State Department said in a briefing.
Egypt's
leading democracy advocate and top Muslim and Coptic Christian clerics met with
the army chief to discuss a political road map for the country.
A military helicopter files over the presidential palace as
opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi protest in Cairo, Egypt.
The
meeting signalled the military was taking concrete moves toward implementing
its plan to replace Mr Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader who came to
office a year ago.
Under a
plan leaked to state media, a new interim leadership would be installed, the
Islamist-backed constitution suspended and the Islamist-dominated parliament
dissolved.
The
military has said it will implement its plan once its two-day ultimatum to Mr
Morsi expired, which happened at 5pm (1am AEST).
Opposition
spokesman Khaled Dwoud announced the meeting in a live telephone interview with
state television.
Mohamed
ElBaradei is the leader of the main opposition grouping, the National Salvation
Front.
He was
accompanied in the meeting with army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by
Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar mosque, and Pope Tawadros II,
patriarch of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority.
CairoScene.com tweets a picture of the army deploying in Giza.
Picture: Twitter
It came
as Egypt's military moved to tighten its control on key institutions, even
putting officers in the newsroom of state TV, in preparation for an almost
certain push to remove Mr Morsi.
Mr Morsi
has vowed not to step down in the face of millions of protesters in the streets
in the biggest anti-government rallies the country has seen.
His
Islamist supporters have vowed to resist what they call a coup against democracy,
and have also taken to the streets by the tens of thousands. At least 39 people
have been killed in clashes since Sunday.
The
military beefed up its presence inside the mammoth headquarters of state
television on the banks of the Nile River in central Cairo. Crack troops were
deployed in news-production areas.
Officers
from the army's media department moved inside the newsroom and were monitoring
output, though not yet interfering, staffers said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorised to talk about the arrangements.
The state
TV is run by the information minister, a Muslim Brotherhood member put in the
post by Mr Morsi, and its coverage had largely been in favour of the
government. But already in the past two days, the coverage saw a marked shift,
with more balanced reporting showing the anti-Morsi protests along with
pro-Morsi ones. State radio has seen a similar shift.
An Egyptian man welcomes an army soldier upon his deployment on a
street leading to Cairo University.
The authoritative, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper - which
also seemed to be following a military line - reported that the military had
placed several leaders of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood under surveillance and
issued a foreign travel ban on the Islamist group's top leaders.
Under a
plan leaked to state media, the military would install a new interim
leadership, the Islamist-backed constitution suspended and the
Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved.
The
bloodshed, coupled with Mr Morsi's defiant speech, contributed the sense that
both sides are ready to fight to the end.
In his
emotional, 46-minute address aired live to the nation late on Tuesday, Mr Morsi
accused loyalists of his ousted autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak of
exploiting the wave of protests to topple his regime and thwart democracy.
"There
is no substitute for legitimacy,'' said Mr Morsi, at times angrily raising his
voice, thrusting his fist in the air and pounding the podium. He warned that
electoral and constitutional legitimacy "is the only guarantee against
violence.''
Opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi shout
slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
The
statement showed that Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are prepared to run
the risk of challenging the army. It also entrenches the lines of confrontation
between his Islamist supporters and Egyptians angry over what they see as his
efforts to impose control through the Brotherhood and his failures to deal with
the country's multiple problems.
The
Interior Ministry, in charge of the police, piled up the pressure on Mr Morsi
on Wednesday. It pledged in a statement to stand by and protect the protesters
against violence.
Mahmoud
Badr, spokesman for Tamarod, or Rebel - the youth movement behind the latest
wave of protests - called on anti-Morsi protesters to demonstrate outside three
presidential palaces as well as the Cairo headquarters of the Republican Guard,
an army branch tasked with protecting the president, his family and
presidential palaces.
Mr Morsi
is thought to have been working at the Republican Guard headquarters since the
start of the protests.
Mr Badr
also called on the army to place Mr Morsi under arrest for his alleged
incitement to civil war.
"Today
is the day of decisiveness,'' Mr Badr said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Pro-reform leader and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei is in
meetings with the army to try and work a way through Egypt's political crisis.
Mr
Morsi's opponents say he has lost his legitimacy through mistakes and power
grabs and that their turnout on the streets over the past three days shows the
nation has turned against him.
On
Tuesday, millions of jubilant, chanting Morsi opponents again filled Cairo's
historic Tahrir Square, as well as avenues adjacent to two presidential palaces
in the capital, and main squares in cities nationwide. After Mr Morsi's speech,
they erupted in indignation, banging metal fences to raise a din, some raising
their shoes in the air in a show of contempt.
As
reports came in that the military was deploying dozens of armoured vehicles
near Islamist gatherings elsewhere in the capital, the anti-Morsi protesters
frantically waved Egyptian flags in and around Tahrir Square.
"Egypt,
Egypt'' and "Leave, Leave,'' they chanted outside the defence ministry
building.
With
broad grins, they sang patriotic songs they have become accustomed to hearing
as the same tunes have been pumped out on state television in the weeks leading
up to the crisis.
"Morsi
deserves his end. He was the president of the Muslim Brotherhood, not of
Egypt,'' said Cairo resident Amr Mohammed, who carried his 40-day-old daughter
in his arms as he marched to the Ittihadiya presidential palace.
Opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi shout
slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
A group
of housewives put a table in the street and handed out dates and free cups of
water, as celebrations erupted when a television station reported that Mr Morsi
had been placed under house arrest.
Upon
hearing the rumour, one elderly man kneeled down on an Egyptian flag and said
"Allahu Akbar'' (God is greatest).
That
report proved unfounded.
Abdel
Khalek Abo Risha, 56, who come to the protest from Tanta city in the Nile Delta,
said: "I only expect Morsi to be toppled. No other options''.
Nehal
Serry, a woman who helped to organise the refreshments, said: "This is for
the sake of Egypt. We are celebrating that we are getting rid of Morsi''.
The
president's supporters also moved out in increased marches in Cairo and other
cities, and stepped up warnings that it will take bloodshed to dislodge him.
While Mr Morsi has stuck to a stance that he is defending democracy in Egypt,
many of his Islamist backers have presented the fight as one to protect Islam.
Opponents of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi shout
slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
On
Monday, the military gave Mr Morsi an ultimatum to meet the protesters' demands
within 48 hours. If not, the generals' plan would suspend the Islamist-backed
constitution, dissolve the Islamist-dominated legislature and set up an interim
administration headed by the country's chief justice, the state news agency
reported.
The
leaking of the military's so-called political "road map'' appeared aimed
at adding pressure on Mr Morsi by showing the public and the international
community that the military has a plan that does not involve a coup.
Fearing
that Washington's most important Arab ally would descend into chaos, US
officials said they are urging Mr Morsi to take immediate steps to address
opposition grievances, telling the protesters to remain peaceful and reminding
the army that a coup could have consequences for the massive American military
aid package it receives. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorised to speak publicly.
Mr
Morsi's adviser Ayman Ali denied that the US asked Egypt to call early
presidential elections and said consultations were continuing to reach national
conciliation and resolve the crisis. He did not elaborate.
The army
has insisted it has no intention to take power. But the reported road map
showed it was ready to replace Mr Morsi and make a sweeping change in the
ramshackle political structure that has evolved since Mubarak's fall in
February 2011.
The
constitution and domination of the legislature after elections held in late
2011-early 2012 are two of the Islamists' and Brotherhood's most valued
victories - along with Mr Morsi's election last year.
Tags
Politics
no matter wat it takes,there shldnt be any party like Christian brotherhood or muslim brotherhood party...dats turning religion to politics...get it
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