Middle East

Egypt army chief ousts Morsi

By AFP
Published | Updated

An image grab taken from Egyptian state TV shows Egyptian Defence Minister Abdelfatah al-Sisi delivering a statement on July 3, 2013. Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday and declared the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court caretaker leader. (Egyptian TV/AFP)

An image grab taken from Egyptian state TV shows opposition supporters celebrating in Cairo after Egyptian Defence Minister Abdelfatah al-Sisi announced on July 3, 2013 the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. (Egyptian TV/AFP)

Egypt's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday and declared the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court caretaker leader.

Sisi, the defence minister in Morsi's government, also announced a freezing of the Islamist-drafted constitution and early presidential elections.

He said a "strong and capable" government would be formed and would have "full capacities".

The army chief said a panel would be formed to look into amendments to the constitution and a law would be drafted to regulate parliamentary elections.

After the announcement, delivered by Sisi in a televised address, Morsi denounced the move as an "illegal" and urged Egyptians to "peacefully resist the coup as he himself will do", a senior aide told AFP.

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said the roadmap announced by Sisi "meets the the people's demands for early presidential elections".

The army's dramatic move comes after millions of Egyptians took to the streets to call for his ouster, accusing him of betraying the 2011 revolution that brought him to power.