Egypt is collapsing!

[BRVoice]

Alaa Bayoumi ‏@Alaabayoumi 1m http://twitter.com/Alaabayoumi/statu...66226431266816
#AlJazeera: #Morsi aides have left presidential palace.
Reports: only Morsi is left inside Palace.

[BRVoice]

Alastair Beach ‏@Alastair_Beach 1m http://twitter.com/Alastair_Beach/st...66934765326336
Troops lining Nile bridge leading to Cairo Uni.




Mada Masr ‏@MadaMasr 1m http://twitter.com/MadaMasr/status/352467498110685184
Army tanks have reached Tahrir Square.




Jack Shenker ‏@hackneylad 52s http://twitter.com/hackneylad/status/352467719452495872
Army tanks reaching #Tahrir square,
troops controlling at least two major bridges across Nile #Egypt

[BRVoice]

Several hundred Egyptian soldiers perform military parade on main road near Presidential Palace, @Reuters witness says

[BRVoice]

The live feed of Reuters

http://live.reuters.com/Event/World_News

[BRVoice]

Khaled Abol Naga ‏@kalnaga 44m http://twitter.com/kalnaga/status/352457924666343424
#MB is trying to make #Egypt Revolt #30jun look as a #coup
TRUTH IS: Army had to side with Millions on streets to end #islamist fascism

[BRVoice]

RT @hackneylad: Army tanks reaching #Tahrir square, troops controlling at least two major bridges across Nile #Egypt

RT @hackneylad: So the tanks really are on the streets and guns are being fired in the air. #Egypt's current crisis is approaching a disturbing climax



RT @saramsalem: ‎#EgyptianArmy deployed on Gam3a Bridge in Giza, via Cairo Scene pic.twitter.com/uim1JuOxh1


Russian Market ‏@russian_market 7m http://twitter.com/russian_market/st...68816883761152
All Egyptian airports closed down - Egypt State TV (via @ChangeInLibya)

[BRVoice]

Russian Market ‏@russian_market 9m http://twitter.com/Sarahcarr/status/352469807112794112
BREAKING: Mohammed Mursi no longer in power,
State newspaper reports -CNN (via @RodrigoEBR)

[American Patriot]

Not showing tanks on TV.....

[BRVoice]

Alaa Bayoumi ‏@Alaabayoumi 1m http://twitter.com/Alaabayoumi/statu...72292082728961
#AlJazeera: Minister of Defense's meeting with opposition leaders is over.
A statement is expected soon.#Egypt



Nancy Messieh ‏@nfm 1m http://twitter.com/nfm/status/352472411167399936
Egypt's military council holds crisis meeting
as army secures key institutions
http://bit.ly/1b7SjgM #Egypt #June30

[American Patriot]

Egypt: Troops deploy near protests, facilities

Posted: Jul 03, 2013 12:23 AM MST Updated: Jul 03, 2013 11:33 AM MST




By HAMZA HENDAWI and MAGGIE MICHAEL
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) - Army troops backed by armor 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.


Associated Press reporters in various part of Cairo say the troops, backed by armored personnel carriers and in full combat gear, have deployed on strategic bridges and near protest sites by supporters of embattled President Mohammed Morsi.


The deployment is part of a move by the military to tighten its control of key institutions Wednesday, slapping a travel ban on Morsi and top allies in preparation for an almost certain push to remove the Islamist president with the expiration of an afternoon deadline.

[American Patriot]

Travel ban imposed on Egypt's President Morsi, Brotherhood members

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An opponent of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi during a protest Wednesday outside the presidential palace in Cairo. (Khalil Hamra / Associated Press / July 3, 2013)

By Jeffrey Fleishman and Ingy Hassieb July 3, 2013, 10:11 a.m.




CAIRO -- The Egyptian military Wednesday ordered a travel ban on President Mohamed Morsi and members of his Muslim Brotherhood movement as commanders worked to isolate the Islamist leader and form a coalition government.

Egyptian media reported that officials at the Cairo airport were told to block prominent Brotherhood officials, including Essam Erian and Khairat Shater, from leaving the country.

The move came as military commanders met with opposition and religions figures, including Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II.
The military, which had given Morsi until 5 p.m. Cairo time (8 a.m. PDT) to end months of unrest, was expected to announce in the coming hours the scrapping of the Islamist-backed constitution and the establishment of a coalition government.


Egyptian media reported that Morsi was still refusing to step down but said a coalition government, which he had earlier rejected, might be a way out of the crisis.
The army's actions heightened the chances that Egypt could slide into factional bloodshed. Essam Haddad, an adviser to Morsi, wrote on his Facebook page that the military was tightening its circle around the Muslim Brotherhood.

“As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page,” he wrote. “For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let’s call what is happening by its real name: military coup.”


Meanwhile, thousands of anti-government protesters were waiting in Tahrir Square for a statement from the military. Many chanted:"Leave, leave" and waived the Egyptian flag.


“Morsi did nothing for us," said Narges Kamel, 65, who was among the crowd. "Everything is more expensive. There is no social justice. The military will stand with us and with Egypt. They [the Brotherhood] can’t attack us. We have the youth, the police and the military on our side.”


Helicopters buzzed over Cairo, and the army’s Facebook page carried an ominous post titled: "The Final Hours:"


“The general commander of the armed forces has mentioned that it is more honorable for us to die than for the Egyptian people to be intimidated or threatened ... and we swear to god that we will sacrifice for Egypt and its people with our blood against any terrorist, fundamentalist, or ignorant [person].”


Fear, excitement and apprehension have gripped the nation, which two years ago overthrew Hosni Mubarak only to face economic turmoil, political divisions and deadly protests that have marred the path toward democracy. Pro- and anti-Morsi supporters clashed through Tuesday night, including fighting at Cairo University, where 16 people were killed and more than 200 injured.


The military is exasperated at Morsi and the Brotherhood, but the president said he has the legitimacy of being Egypt’s first freely elected leader. Millions of anti-government demonstrators have demanded that Morsi step aside and call early elections.

Such a scenario would be a major defeat for the Brotherhood, a once-outlawed organization that has waited more than 80 years to impose its brand of political Islam on the country. But the forces of the secular state, founded after a 1952 military coup against British rule, are suspicious of Morsi’s intentions and the Brotherhood’s exclusion of other political voices.


The military, though, faces steep risks with a coup. It has said it will tear up the new Islamist-backed constitution and form a transitional coalition government made up of civilians. The army unsuccessfully ruled the country from 2011 until Morsi took office, and if it appears to remain it power too long, it will likely face a new backlash.

[American Patriot]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23157801

3 July 2013 Last updated at 13:17 ET Egypt awaits army statement after deadline passes




The BBC's Ben Brown reports from Tahrir Square, which he says is "incredibly noisy and absolutely packed"





Egyptians are awaiting a televised statement on the political crisis, after a deadline set by the army for a resolution to the turmoil passed.
President Mohammed Morsi has repeated his offer of a consensus government, but still refuses to step down.


Aides to Mr Morsi took to social media to describe what was happening as a military coup but there was no confirmation of this.


Armoured vehicles have been seen moving through the streets of Cairo.


There are also reports that Egyptian officials have placed an international travel ban on Mr Morsi and other senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Continue reading the main story Tamarod (Rebel)




The Tamarod movement says more than 22 million people have signed a petition complaining that:

• Security has not been restored since the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak
• The poor "have no place" in society
• The government has had to "beg" the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8bn (£3.17bn) loan to help shore up the public finances
• There has been "no justice" for people killed by security forces during the uprising and at anti-government protests since then
• "No dignity is left" for Egyptians or their country
• The economy has "collapsed", with growth poor and inflation high
• Egypt is "following in the footsteps" of the US

• Profile: Tamarod protest movement

Correspondents at the main pro-Morsi demonstrations in Cairo described scuffles between the army and protesters.


In the Nasr City area of the capital, New York Times reporter Kareem Fahim tweeted that soldiers were firing into the air to disperse demonstrators.


One of Mr Morsi's aides, Issam al-Haddad, wrote on his Facebook page that he was "fully aware" his words might be the "last lines I get to post on this page", adding that what was happening was a "military coup".


Defiant speech

When the deadline set by the army passed earlier on Wednesday, cheers echoed in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where tens of thousands of protesters had gathered.

The army had earlier held meetings with political and religious leaders to discuss the crisis.


But the ruling Freedom and Justice party - the political arm of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood - stayed away from these talks.


Mr Morsi's opponents say he and the Muslim Brotherhood are pushing an Islamist agenda onto Egypt, and that he should stand down.


In a defiant televised speech on Tuesday evening, Mr Morsi said he would give his life to defend constitutional legitimacy, and blamed the unrest on corruption and remnants of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak.


Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was reported to have met his top commanders on Wednesday - and a source close to the military told AFP news agency they had been discussing details of a post-Morsi roadmap.


The army's plan reportedly includes an outline for new presidential elections, the suspension of the new constitution and the dissolution of parliament.


Members of the Tamarod (Rebel) movement, which has mobilised millions of demonstrators onto the streets to demand Mr Morsi's resignation, were also part of the meeting.
So too were leading religious figures and opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei. An opposition source told Reuters Mr ElBaradei would "urge the armed forces to intervene to stop the bloodshed".


Gehad el-Haddad said the army had no right to offer such a plan.






Egypt in 90 seconds: How did we get here?



"A roadmap is something that the constitution outlines and the president directs. It's not the role of the military."


He said the Brotherhood was open to any solution, but that it had to be through "representatives of the people", and proposed speeding through parliamentary elections.


"If the protests on the street prove anything they prove the people of Egypt are ready to have their say. They can sweep the parliamentary election, impeach the president, change the constitution and set the roadmap that they want, but it has to be the right of the people."


Military sources earlier told the BBC that under the draft plan, the president could be replaced by a council of cross-party civilians and technocrats ahead of new elections.


The president was put under further pressure by the resignation of six ministers from his government on Monday, including Foreign Minister Kamel Amr.


Elected president
Mr Morsi became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak.


But dissent has been growing, with protesters angry at the lack of change in post-revolution Egypt and accusing the Brotherhood of trying to protect its own interests.


"This is a president threatening his own people. We don't consider him the president of Egypt," said Mohammed Abdelaziz, a leader of Tamarod.


However, Mr Morsi and the Brotherhood still have significant public support, and both sides have drawn huge numbers to rallies in recent days.


Tens of thousands gathered in Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Wednesday - for a fourth straight day - to demand Mr Morsi step down.


There were outbreaks of violence in several parts of the capital: in the largest bout of unrest, at least 16 people were killed and about 200 wounded at Cairo University in Giza.


Eyewitness Mostafa Abdelnasser told AFP that Morsi supporters had come under attack from unidentified men carrying firearms.


At least 39 people have now died since the protests began on Sunday.


In the wake of the latest unrest, the UK Foreign Office has changed its travel advice for Egypt, recommending against all but essential travel to the country except for resorts on the Red Sea in South Sinai and in the Red Sea governorate.


The instability has also hit global oil prices, sending US light crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since September last year, amid concerns supply routes through the Suez Canal could be affected.



Are you in Egypt? Have you been protesting? What do you think about the current situation in the country? Please get in touch using the form below.

[American Patriot]

Egypt: Army deployed president’s barracks

Find story with similar tags:armyCairoEgyptMorsi


Mohammed Morsi is placed under house arrest, Egyptian TV reported. A military coup is underway in Egypt, according to President Mohamed Morsi’s national security adviser.
Photo: www.al-monitor.com

Security forces have placed a travel ban on President Morsi and a number of top Muslim Brotherhood officials, according to AFP sources.
The Egyptian army erected barbed wire and barriers around a barracks where embattled President Mohamed Morsi was working and deployed armoured vehicles and troops to prevent his supporters marching from a nearby rally to his palace, witnesses said.
A Reuters journalist saw troops move into place close to the Rabaa Adaweya mosque area, where tens of thousands of supporters of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood are rallied to support the democratically elected president and what they call constitutional legitimacy.
The army said in an official statement that it was security the area and denied what it said were reports that it was attacking Morsi’s supporters, saying: “The Egyptian army belongs to all Egyptians.”
The adviser stated that he expects army and police violence to remove pro-Mursi demonstrators from the streets of Cairo.
A Morsi presidential aide stated that “no military coup can succeed against popular resistance without considerable bloodshed.”
Al Arabiya channel reports that President Mohamed Morsi has left Al Quba, the presidential palace in Cairo, and moved into the Masr el-Gedida neighbourhood, which hosts the Republican Guard quarters.
Previously, Egypt’s army chief was in the meeting with opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, Sunni and Coptic leaders and representatives of Islamist parties, including President Mohamed Morsi’s, a source said.
The discussions with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, also the defence minister, focused on the roadmap the military has threatened to impose at 1430 GMT on Wednesday unless Morsi “meets the demands of the people” following four days of mass protests calling for his resignation.
Security sources said Egyptian troops with armoured vehicles have secured the central Cairo studios of state television.
The sources said staff not involved in working on live broadcasts had left the building.
The military had issued its ultimatum to Morsi on Monday, giving him 48 hours to either find a solution to the crisis or face being imposed with a roadmap that it has drawn up.

[American Patriot]

Marines Put On Standby to Respond to Egypt Unrest

Jul 02, 2013
Military.com| by Richard Sisk
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Marines at bases in Spain and Italy were poised Tuesday for the possibility of rushing to Cairo to protect or evacuate U.S. citizens and the U.S. Embassy amid the ongoing violence and political unrest in Egypt.


"We do believe we have taken steps to ensure our military is ready to respond to a range of contingencies" flowing from the faceoff between President Mohammed Morsi and opposition protesters that has the Egyptian military threatening to intervene, said George Little, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman.


In response to the killing last year of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya, the U.S. posted 550 Marines to the air base in Moron, Spain, to serve as a response force to turmoil in the region.


As the Egyptian protests have escalated, elements from the Marine force at Moron have been moved closer to Cairo at the air base at Sigonella, Italy, Pentagon officials said. The Marines have MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft available at both Moron and Sigonella to move them quickly to any contingency.


Last Thursday, and again on Monday, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, phoned Egyptian Gen. Sedki Sobhi to gain assurances on the safety of U.S. citizens in Egypt, Pentagon officials said. Morsi picked Sobhi to become Egyptian chief of staff after dismissing his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Anan.


Dempsey’s phone call to Sobhi on Monday came on the same day that the Egyptian military threatened to take over the government in 48 hours if Morsi and the opposition failed to resolve their differences.


However, hundreds of thousands of protesters calling on Morsi to step down remained in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak.


Across town, Morsi's backers from the Muslim Brotherhood also remained at their own rally site, where they vowed to resist a military coup.


Gehad al-Haddad, a senior Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, told CBS News that the military’s threat of a takeover was serious.


"I think it's a coup," al-Haddad said.


On Monday night, President Obama, who was wrapping up his week-long visit to Africa, phoned Morsi "to convey his concerns about recent developments in Egypt" and to urge Morsi to be responsive to the demands of the protesters, the White House said.


Obama told Morsi that democracy means "ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country," the White House said.


Obama also "stressed his expectation that the government of Egypt continue to protect U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities," the White House said.

[American Patriot]

When these bozos protest their OWN government, why do they use the images of Obama?

What the hell is WITH these people. Why not have a picture of Morsi with a circle/slash?

US urges Morsi to be 'more responsive' as Egypt crisis deepens

State Department forced to downplay president's remarks over fears Obama was effectively calling for fresh Egypt elections

• Dan Roberts in Washington
  
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 July 2013 13.26 EDT

Egypt protesters carry anti-Obama posters. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The US was torn between support for protesters and a reluctance to endorse a military coup on Wednesday as the Egyptian crisis presented one of the trickiest foreign policy dilemmas yet for the White House.


The State Department chided Eygptian president Mohamed Morsi for not doing enough to respond to protesters, and appealed for calm.


"We believe all sides need to take steps to talk to each other and to lower the level of violence," said spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Wednesday. "We feel there was an absence of significant specific steps in Morsi's statement. He must do more to be truly responsive to the concerns of the Eygptian people."


Earlier this week, President Obama appeared to encourage protesters by publicly urging Morsi to consider "other options" for dealing with the popular unrest.


"Democracy is not just about elections. It's also about: how are you working with an opposition; how do you treat dissenting voices; how do you treat minority groups," Obama said on Monday.


But the State Department was later forced to downplay the remarks amid rumours that the US was effectively calling for fresh elections and therefore condoning the threat of force to overturn a democratically elected president. "The reports that we have been urging early elections are inaccurate," said a Psaki said on Tuesday.


Following a phone call between John Kerry and the Egyptian foreign minister, the State Department was adamant it had backed neither the protesters nor the Muslim Brotherhood.


"We're on neither side," said Psaki. "We're on the side of the Egyptian people. We have been in touch with all sides – the opposition, with the government, with the military – and we will continue to be. But to alleviate any concerns or assumptions, we are not – we have not taken sides."


The Pentagon said on Wednesday that defense secretary Chuck Hagel had spoken to defense minister General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi twice in the past week, including a call on Tuesday, but refused to reveal the content of their conversations.


Privately, the US is thought to be urging either fresh elections or a broader political coalition as routes out of the crisis, but Washington veterans recognise that almost nothing the US says publicly can help the situation.


"The reality is there is very little than anyone can do from the outside that is going to alter the behaviour of the key actors, who are driven by internal dynamics," said Anthony Cordesman, a former US adviser now working at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.


"I think the Obama administration is quietly indicating that one solution might be to hold early elections, and there is a case for much stronger coalition government, but it is not clear that saying this would achieve anything positive."


The US military is also thought to be in close contact with its counterparts in Egypt – urging them to respect civil liberities and not use force. Washington remains a huge military donor to Egypt but is bound by US laws that forbid funding of foreign armies in the case of a military coup.


"If the US is quieter, and uses military channels to urge restraint, that is about the best it can do," added Cordesman.


Diplomats were also stung by the adverse reaction to a speech given in June by the US ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson, who appeared to defend Morsi – prompting renewed anti-US sentiment among opposition protesters. "The government of the United States supports Egypt, its people and its government," she said.


"Stable democracies … make the best allies. We oppose chaos. Chaos is a breeding ground for instability," added ambassador Patterson.


Yet Obama struck a very different tone when addressed the growing scale of protests earlier this week on a trip to Africa – suggesting events on the ground had forced the US to hedge its bets.


"Our commitment to Egypt has never been around any particular individual or party. Our commitment has been to a process," he said. "What is clear right now is that although Mr Morsi was elected democratically, there's more work to be done to create the conditions in which everybody feels that their voices are heard, and that the government is responsive and truly representative."

[American Patriot]

Turkey’s Leadership Watches Uneasily as Egypt’s Brotherhood Stumbles

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As Egypt’s Islamist government totters amid mounting pressure from opposition protesters and the military, its allies in Ankara are watching with growing unease.

By Joe Parkinson
As Egypt’s Islamist government totters amid mounting pressure from opposition protesters and the military, its allies in Ankara are watching with growing unease.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who weathered a month of nationwide protests against his own government in June, has invested heavily to forge a strong alliance with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, born from shared strategic interests and shared roots in political Islam. The collapse of the Islamist government in Cairo would mark the removal a key ally for Ankara and could further undermine Turkey’s bid to become a regional model for emerging Arab democracies.
On Wednesday, as the clock ticked on a military-imposed deadline for President Morsi to restore order, Turkish officials lined up to offer support to the embattled leader. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Ankara would stand by the Egyptian government and called on all parties to respect the law and the constitution. Europe Minister Egemen Bagis said that he hoped “no undesirable developments would take place,” in a thinly veiled reference to a military coup.
Analysts said that the prospect of the fall of Egypt’s democratically-elected Islamist government, could represent a serious blow to Turkey’s aspirations of regional leadership.
“The developments in Egypt are unfortunate, but along with the situation in Syria, it appears to mark the end of whatever dreams the Turkish government previously had of playing a leading role to a series of friendly Islamist governments in the region,” said Soli Ozel, professor of International Relations at Istanbul’s Kadir Hass University.
Turkey’s unease at the prospect of the collapse of the Egyptian government stems from practical investment as well as ideological kinship.
Ankara has since 2011 offered a host of measures to shore up Egypt’s stuttering economy, including a $2 billion aid package. The governments have discussed lifting visa restrictions and completed joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean. Turkey’s Justice and Development Party has dispatched leading officials and business people to help President Morsi reform the country’s secular-dominated institutions.
When Prime Minister Erdogan visited Cairo in September 2011, he was hailed as a political role model by the Muslim Brotherhood leadership. In a sign of burgeoning relations, Mr. Erdogan invited President Morsi to address his party congress in Ankara in 2012.
For Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, which emerged after a series of Islamist parties were shuttered by military-backed secularist governments, the prospect of a coup in Egypt also recalls memories of a darker period in Turkish history.
Turkey’s military, self-appointed guardians of the country’s secular constitution, launched four coups against civilian governments since the republic was founded in 1923, most recently against an Islamist-dominated government in 1997.
During the spate of anti-government demonstrations in Turkey last month, Mr. Erdogan said that secularist enemies were looking to unseat his government and compared himself to Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, a popularly elected leader who was deposed in a coup and ended his career on the military gallows in 1961.

[American Patriot]

Morsi is out. Military is in.

An announcement was just made by a military leader, but I couldn't hear most of it.

[American Patriot]

Celebrations in the the city going on.

[vector7]

Army told Mursi at 7 p.m. (1700 gmt) that he was no longer president http://ara.tv/jqdsu #egypt#mursi
#BreakingNews: The armed forces will stay away from political work, army says #Egypt

#LATEST -- Armed forces tried their best to reconcile between parties, including president, army chief Sisi says http://bit.ly/12iBdG8#LATEST -- #Egypt constitution will be temporarily suspended, army commander Sisi says http://bit.ly/12iBdG8

[American Patriot]

Fireworks and cheering......Lasers (lots of green lasers).