July 3, 2013

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has been removed from office in a military coup. The head of the Egyptian army, General Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi, announced today on television that the chief justice of Egypt’s constitutional court has assumed the powers of the presidency. During the announcement, Sisi was flanked by military and religious leaders, both Coptic Christian and Muslim. Anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square greeted the announcement with enormous cheers.

Earlier in the day, the army deployed armored vehicles through the streets of Cairo, which were clogged with millions of pro- and anti-government protesters waiting to see what action the army would take after its deadline for the embattled president had expired. General Sisi issued the ultimatum on July 1 to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers. He had 48 hours to respond to massive popular protests against his government. Sisi warned that if Morsi failed to heed “the will of the people,” the army would offer its own “road map” for peace.

An hour before that deadline, Morsi posted a Facebook message consenting to a coalition government and an independent committee to propose amendments to the constitution. Opposition leaders dismissed the offer as too little, too late.

Many Egyptians believed that Morsi was more interested in turning Egypt into an Islamist state than in dealing with its many problems. Television stations belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood organization went off the air immediately after General Sisi’s annoucement.

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)