Opponents of Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi shout slogans during a protest in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. Egypt’s military moved to tighten its control on key institutions Wednesday, even putting officers in the newsroom of state TV, in preparation for an almost certain push to remove the country’s Islamist president when an afternoon ultimatum expires. (Photo: AP Photo/Amr Nabil)The enormous crowd in Cairo’s Tahrir Square was deafening on Wednesday, as millions of Egyptians opposed to the rule of President Mohammed Morsi continued their defiant stand against the ruling government as they awaited the military council’s response to latest statements regarding the political impasse that has engulfed the nation.
The tensions in Egypt come from a complex triade of forces with Morsi supporters, consolidated within the Muslim Brotherhood from which he hails, standing off against the secural, more liberal supporters of the Tamarod–or rebel–coalition and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) which has threatened to intercede in order to restore order.
The palpable anxiety of those in Tahrir was expressed well by this tweet by independent journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous from Cairo:
Morsi has been defiant against calls for him to step aside by the populist movement opposed to his rule and on Tuesday said he would lay down his life in order to protect the legitimacy of the government.
“My life is the price for protecting the legitimacy [of the constitution],” Morsi said in a televised speech late on Tuesday. His backers are calling the military’s assertion of power the precursor to a coup de’ta.
Meanwhile, the Egypt’s military council, which set an afternoon deadline for Morsi to properly address the crisis, said it was meeting with various members of the opposition to help determine its next move.
Numerous reports indicate the military has overtaken state television stations, though what they might do next remained a mystery as the nation awaited official word from SCAF leader, General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
Live shots from Tahrir Square via ONtv Live:
And this Common Dreams generated Twitter feed is tracking the latest developments from informed experts and sources on the ground in Egypt:
The following outlets are also providing quality live coverage from Egypt: Al-Jazeera, Ahram Online, and The Guardian.
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