An adviser to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said Wednesday that a military coup was underway, tanks on the move and communication to Morsi has been cut off

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

An adviser to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said Wednesday that a military coup was underway, tanks on the move and communication to Morsi has been cut off

NBC News

Supporters of Egyptian president say military coup is underway

Mohamed El-Shahed / AFP - Getty Images

Clashes broke out near Cairo University on Wednesday as the power struggle between Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and the country's armed forces raised fears of civil war.

By Richard Engel, Charlene Gubash and Erin McClam, NBC News

CAIRO — An adviser to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said Wednesday that a military coup was underway, that tanks were on the move outside Cairo and that communication with the president had been cut off.
As a military deadline came and went for Morsi to step aside, the army took control of state television, and boisterous crowds opposed to the regime cheered and danced in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital.
The president’s whereabouts were not clear. The Morsi adviser, Jihad Haddad, told NBC News that he could not confirm or dney whether Morsi had moved from Republican Guard headquarters. Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood, which supports Morsi, said that some of its leaders had been rounded up and arrested.

Earlier in the day, both the president and the military had sworn a fight to the death. The military leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said it would be an honor to die rather than subject the Egyptian people to threats or terror.
In something of a call to arms, the military posted on Facebook: “We swear to God to sacrifice with our blood for Egypt and its people against any terrorist, extremist or ignoramus. Long live Egypt and its proud people.”
The government said at least 16 people had been killed and about 200 injured in clashes with security forces at Cairo University.
Egypt elected Morsi one year ago after throwing out Hosni Mubarak, the autocrat who led the country for three decades. But Egyptians have been frustrated by a weak economy, poor services and what they see as a power grab by the Morsi government.

Violent clashes continue in Cairo where demonstrators are protesting against Mohammed Morsi's presidency. Morsi is declaring he'd rather die than forfeit his post as the Egyptian army threatens to remove him by force. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

The military was believed to have given Morsi until 5 p.m. local time, or 11 a.m. ET, to meet the demands of the protesters. The precise time was not clear. The ultimatum, issued Monday, has been denounced by supporters of Morsi as a military coup.
Hours ahead of the deadline, civilian political leaders were summoned to meet with the top generals. Those civilian leaders included Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the U.N. nuclear weapons agency and a critic of Morsi.

Read More and Watch Videos Here

*****************************************************************************************

KABC-TV Los Angeles, CA

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi under house arrest - Al Hayat TV

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Mohammed Morsi is seen in this undated file photo. (KABC Photo)

John Gregory

CAIRO (KABC) -- Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is reportedly under house arrest after the military ultimatum expired Wednesday, reports Al Hayat TV.

Morsi's spokesman denied the report, according to ABC News, but word of the house arrest provoked cheers in Tahrir Square.
This comes as Egypt's military moved to tighten its control on key institutions before their afternoon ultimatum expired.
The military stationed officers in the newsroom of state television on the banks of the Nile River in central Cairo. 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 authorized to talk about the arrangements.
This move shows the military's preparation for an almost certain push to remove the country's Islamist president when an afternoon ultimatum expires.
Earlier Wednesday, Egyptian leaders met with the army chief. This meeting also signaled the military was taking concrete moves toward implementing its plan to replace Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader who came to office a year ago.
The clock is ticking and no one is really sure exactly what will happen when the deadline is reached. It was imposed by Egypt's military Tuesday after massive demonstrations in the nation's capitol and it will be reached at 7 a.m. - 8 a.m. PT.
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.

Read More Here

*****************************************************************************************

Egyptian army takes over state TV as military, opposition heads meet

Mohamed ElBaradei and Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi powwow with the top Muslim cleric of Al-Azhar Mosque and the Coptic pope as deadline on ultimatum nears

By AP and Times of Israel staff July 3, 2013, 3:51 pm

Hundreds of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters hold demonstrations at Cairo's Tahrir Square, on Tuesday, July 2. (photo credit: screen capture/Channel 10 news)

Egypt’s leading democracy advocate, Mohamed ElBaradei, and top Muslim and Coptic Christian clerics met Wednesday with the army chief to discuss a political road map for Egypt only hours before a military ultimatum to the Islamist president was set to expire.

The meeting signaled the military was taking concrete moves toward implementing its plan to replace President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader who came to office a year ago.

Morsi has vowed not to step down in the face of three days of massive street demonstrations calling for his ouster. At least 39 people have died since the protests began on Sunday.

ElBaradei is the leader of the main opposition grouping, the National Salvation Front. He was accompanied in the meeting with army chief Gen. 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.

Under a plan leaked to state media, the military would install a new interim leadership, the Islamist-backed constitution would be suspended and the Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved.

The military has said it would implement its plan once its two-day ultimatum to Morsi expires, between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Egypt time (5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Israel time).

In one of the first signs that the army was beginning to implement its ultimatum, forces had taken over the state television studios in Cairo, al-Arabiya reported early afternoon Wednesday.

Overnight clashes between President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters and opponents left at least 23 dead, most of them in a single incident of fighting outside Cairo University.

With his political fate hanging in the balance, Morsi on Tuesday demanded that the powerful armed forces withdraw their ultimatum, saying he rejected all “dictates” — from home or abroad.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi addresses the nation in a televised speech on Tuesday. (photo credit: AP Photo/Egyptian State Television)

In an emotional speech aired live to the nation, Morsi, who a year ago was inaugurated as Egypt’s first freely elected president, pledged to protect his “constitutional legitimacy” with his life. He accused loyalists of his ousted autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak of exploiting the wave of protests to topple his regime and thwart democracy. He said he was willing to “sacrifice my own blood” for the security and legitimacy of his government and his country.

“There is no substitute for legitimacy,” said Morsi, who at times angrily raised his voice, thrust his fist in the air and pounded the podium. He warned that electoral and constitutional legitimacy “is the only guarantee against violence.”

“I have no other option. I have shouldered the responsibility. I will continue shouldering the responsibility,” he said as millions were still gathered in Cairo’s historic Tahrir Square calling for his exit.

The Egyptian president, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who was inaugurated on June 30, 2012 after winning Egypt’s first elections, said he wouldn’t allow the revolution to be hijacked by Mubarak-era supporters. Earlier Tuesday, the former Egyptian president reportedly called on Morsi to step down.

Morsi said he would stand up against “any who attempt to shed a drop of blood, drive a wedge between the people or act in violence… I will adhere to this legitimacy and I will stand guardian to this legitimacy.

“The price can be my life. My own life. I am willing to safeguard and protect your lives,” he said. “I send a message, a message of love and a message of appreciation to all the people of Egypt, no matter what their positions are.”

Read More Here

*****************************************************************************************