A military coup has ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi as the army suspended the Islamist-backed constitution and called early elections.

In a televised broadcast, flanked by military leaders, religious authorities and political figures, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi effectively declared the removal of elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

Sisi called for presidential and parliamentary elections, a panel to review the constitution and a national reconciliation committee that would include youth movements. He said the roadmap had been agreed by a range of political groups.

Mr Morsi had repeated a vow not to step down after a military deadline passed.

Army troops backed by armour and including commandos have deployed across much of the Egyptian capital, surrounding protests by the president's supporters, and at key facilities and major intersections.

For the second time in two years of political upheaval, the army has removed the country's leader. But this time, it has ousted a democratically elected president, the first in Egypt's history.

Morsi's Islamist supporters have vowed to resist what they call a coup against democracy, and have also taken to the streets by the tens of thousands. At least 39 people have been killed in clashes since Sunday, raising fears of further bloodshed.

Earlier in the day, the head of the army met with leading reform advocate Mohammed ElBaradei, Egypt's top Muslim cleric — Al-Azhar Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb — and Coptic Pope Tawadros II to discuss its political road map, a spokesman for the senior opposition National Democratic Front, Khaled Daoud, said on state TV.

Also attending were a representative of the new youth movement behind this week's protests and some members of the ultraconservative Salafi movements, a Defense Ministry official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In a last-minute statement before the deadline, Morsi again rejected the military's intervention, saying abiding by his electoral legitimacy was the only way to prevent violence. He criticized the military for "taking only one side."

"One mistake that cannot be accepted, and I say this as president of all Egyptians, is to take sides," he said in the statement issued by his office. "Justice dictates that the voice of the masses from all squares should be heard," he said, repeating his offer to hold dialogue with his opponents.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Gehad El-Haddad took to Twitter and argued that there had been four attempts to elect a parliament "all derailed by a corrupt judiciary that is still a stronghold of old regime".

He also confirmed that the Freedom and Justice Party had rejected a meeting with ElBaradei and the head of the Sisi army. He suggested the military are trying to propose Elbaradei as a figure of unity.

He added: "Military is not a political actor 2 negotiate anything. It belongs in the barracks under leadership of its commander in chief ".

“The General Command of the Armed Forces is currently meeting with a number of religious, national, political and youth icons ... There will be a statement issued from the General Command as soon as they are done,” the army said.

In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening, the Egyptian leader vowed to defend his “constitutional legitimacy” and refused to heed the millions of protesters who have called for him to step down since Sunday.

“The price of preserving legitimacy is my life,” he said. “Legitimacy is the only guarantee to preserve the country.”

El-Haddad told Reuters movement said his supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Mr Morsi.

"There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president," he said.

"We will not allow the will of the Egyptian people to be bullied again by the military machine."

The military chiefs, wanting to restore order in a country racked by protests over Mr Morsi's Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined “The Final Hours”. They said they were willing to shed blood against “terrorists and fools” after Mr Morsi refused to give up his elected office.

In Egypt’s capital on Tuesday evening there were growing signs of the tensions which some Egyptians fear may be pulling the country apart.

At Cairo University gun battles erupted during a mass rally which had been called by the Muslim Brotherhood in response to the military’s ultimatum.

Hundreds of Morsi supporters and their opponents battled for hours in the streets alongside the university. The clashes started with rock throwing and exchanges of Molotov cocktails. But as the fighting intensified, sustained bursts of pistol and automatic weapon fire could be heard echoing down the streets.

At one point a pro-Morsi supporter strode down the main road next to the university, took aim with his shotgun and fired several rounds off down the street. Shortly afterwards the opposition attackers charged them back down the main avenue, sending rounds of birdshot ricocheting into the walls and bullets fizzing overhead.

Further north in the Kitkat neighbourhood of Cairo, local media reports said another Brotherhood rally came under attack from residents firing birdshot pellets. At least seven people were killed during the violent clashes in the capital, according to the Associated Press.

Elsewhere in Cairo and across the country there were several mass rallies which remained entirely peaceful – though activists again reported at least 25 cases of sexual assault in the centre of the capital.

Opposition protesters continued their vigil in Tahrir Square and outside Heliopolis Palace, the seat of Mr Morsi. There was also a march on Qubba Palace, the residence currently being used by the President.

In the east Cairo suburb of Nasr City, where pro-Morsi supporters have been staging a sit-in since Sunday, thousands gathered to pledge their allegiance to the Egyptian leader. Speaking to The Independent amid the rumble of drums and buoyant chanting, many seemed unperturbed about the impending threat of military intervention.

“The Egyptian army is a national army,” said one protester. “Even if all the people here die first, Mohamed Morsi will not fall. The legitimacy of the people is stronger than the power of the army.”

But others were more wary. “Mohamed Morsi is the legitimately elected President of Egypt,” said Ibrahim Youssef, 35. “If there are clashes we are ready and we will die for our cause.”

Many among the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies consider the current uprising to be a betrayal of democracy. After winning a series of elections which culminated in last year’s Presidential poll, they feel cheated and disenchanted.

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Media Indonesia :
Petinggi Militer Berdatangan ke Stasiun Televisi Mesir
KAIRO, KOMPAS.com — Para personel militer Mesir sudah berada di stasiun televisi Mesir, Rabu (3/7/2013), beberapa jam sebelum tenggat waktu 48 jam yang diberikan untuk Presiden Muhammad Mursi berakhir.

Para karyawan stasiun televisi mengatakan, para perwira militer mengawasi konten siaran, tetapi tidak melakukan intervensi apa pun.

Sementara itu, kantor berita Associated Press mencatat semakin banyak personel militer yang berada di dalam gedung stasiun televisi.

Seorang juru bicara angkatan bersenjata Mesir mengatakan, militer akan memberikan pernyataan segera setelah perundingan masalah krisis dengan kelompok oposisi dan para pemimpin agama berakhir.

Sejumlah sumber angkatan bersenjata sebelumnya mengatakan, militer akan memberikan pernyataan setelah tenggat waktu 48 jam untuk Presiden Mursi dan politisi Mesir habis pada pukul 17.00 waktu setempat atau pukul 22.00 WIB.

Sebelumnya, militer memberi waktu 48 jam kepada Presiden Mursi untuk "memenuhi keinginan rakyat" menyusul aksi unjuk rasa besar-besaran yang menuntut pengunduran diri Mursi.

Ultimatum yang diberikan militer itu diharapkan bisa membuat Mursi dan oposisi sepakat untuk sebuah resolusi bersama demi mengakhiri kebuntuan selama ini.

Jika kesepakatan kedua pihak yang tercapai, militer menyatakan akan melakukan intervensi dan menjalankan peta jalannya sendiri.

Panglima angkatan bersenjata Jenderal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi masih melakukan perundingan dengan pemimpin oposisi Mohamed ElBaradei, pemimpin Kristen Koptik Tawadros II, dan Imam Besar Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.
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Militer Mesir Kerahkan Kendaraan Lapis Baja
KAIRO, KOMPAS.com — Angkatan bersenjata Mesir, Rabu (3/7/2013), mengerahkan kendaraan lapis baja di dekat aksi unjuk rasa kelompok pendukung Presiden Muhammad Mursi di Kairo.

Puluhan kendaraan lapis baja terlihat bergerak menuju Universitas Kairo di mana ribuan pendukung Mursi menggelar aksi dan bersumpah akan membela legitimasi Mursi.

Kantor berita Mesir, MENA, mengutip seorang perwira senior militer, mengabarkan kendaraan-kendaraan pengangkut personel juga dikerahkan ke kawasan Heliopolis dan Nasr City, yang juga menjadi lokasi unjuk rasa.

Sementara itu, penasihat keamanan Mursi, Essam al-Haddad, mengecam langkah militer yang memberikan ultimatum kepada presiden. Dia menyebut langkah militer itu sebagai sebuah kudeta.

"Demi Mesir dan akurasi sejarah, mari menyebut apa yang terjadi saat ini menggunakan istilah sebenarnya: kudeta militer," kata Haddad lewat akun Facebook-nya.

"Saat saya menuliskan pernyataan ini, saya sangat sadar bahwa ini kemungkinan kalimat terakhir yang bisa saya unggah di halaman ini," ujar Haddad.
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Season 2?