CAIRO, July 05, 2013 (AFP)
CAIRO, July 05, 2013 (AFP)
Key developments in Egypt since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday.
– Wednesday July 3:
– 1909 GMT: Defence Minister and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousts Morsi, and declares the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court caretaker leader.
– Sisi, in a televised speech in which he is bounded by religious chiefs and opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei, also announces a freezing of the Islamist-drafted constitution and early presidential elections, without setting a date.
– Police round up key Morsi aides and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.
– Tens of thousands of Cairo protesters erupt in celebration, while Morsi supporters attack security buildings in the north. Ten people are killed in clashes.
– Morsi denounces “a coup” and in a prerecorded speech says: “I am Egypt’s elected president.” He asks Egyptians to defend his legitimacy.
– Morsi and his team put under house arrest, a Brotherhood official says.
– US President Barack Obama says he is “deeply concerned” and urges a quick return to an elected civilian government.
– Thursday July 4:
– A senior officer says the army is “preventively” holding Morsi. Gehad El-Haddad, son of a top Morsi aide, says Morsi has been detained at the defence ministry.
– State media reports that warrants have been issued for the arrest of 300 Muslim Brotherhood officials.
– Chief justice Adly Mansour sworn in as interim president.
– The Brotherhood denounces a “police state” and Islamist alliance the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy calls for “peaceful protests” nationwide on Friday.
– The United States presses Egyptian officials to avoid the “arbitrary arrests” of Morsi and his supporters.
– Friday July 5:
– Thousands of Morsi supporters gather in Cairo and several other towns, clashes erupt between his supporters and opponents and between pro-Morsi and security forces, according to the state agency MENA. At least three pro-Morsi demonstrators are killed as shooting erupts after thousands of Islamist demonstrators approach the army headquarters, an AFP reporter says.
– The supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, tells supporters of Morsi that protesters will remain mobilised until his return.
“Millions will remain in the squares until we carry our elected president, Mohamed Morsi, on our shoulders,” Badie tells the cheering crowd.
Earlier the Brotherhood had denied the security services assertion that Badie had been arrested.
– The African Union suspends Egypt, in line with its strict rules against unconstitutional changes of government.
– Mansour orders the dissolution of the Shura Council, the country’s Islamist-led legislative assembly, and also names Mohammed Ahmed Farid as new intelligence chief.
– In the restive Sinai, where armed Islamists attacked an army checkpoints, killing an Egyptian soldier, two police officers are killed by armed men at El-Arish.
– In the evening, thousands of Morsi supporters march on the state television building, AFP correspondents report.
