Crisis in Egypt
July 2, 2013
Egypt’s army issued an ultimatum yesterday to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers that they had 48 hours to respond to massive popular protests against Morsi and his government. If Morsi fails to heed “the will of the people,” the army will offer its own “road map” for peace, warned the head of the Egyptian army, General Abdel Fattah al-Sis.
On June 30, millions of Egyptians rallied nationwide, demanding Morsi’s resignation. Many Egyptians believe that Morsi is more interested in turning Egypt into an Islamist state than in dealing with its many problems. The lack of public security under Morsi has undermined the economy, which is now in a desperate state. Tourism, Egypt’s biggest industry, has all but dried up since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. More than 1 million people have been thrown out of work since Morsi was elected president one year ago. General al-Sis characterized the protests as an “unprecedented” expression of popular anger at Morsi and the Brotherhood. Yesterday, demonstrators attacked the Muslim Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters, and eight people were killed as the building was ransacked.
Tahrir Square in Cairo, the site of massive demonstrations against the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in January 2011, was jammed again in June and July 2013 by angry protesters demanding the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi. (© John Moore, Getty Images)
Today, Egypt’s foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, submitted his resignation to President Morsi. Amr is the sixth minister to resign over the current political crisis.
Additional World Book articles:
- Tahrir Square
- The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
- Egypt (2011) (a Back in Time article)
- Egypt (2012) (a Back in Time article)
