Egypt witnesses 2nd revolution in 2 years: Prez Morsi ousted

Cairo, July 4: Egypt's tryst with democracy didn't last long as the country's army ousted elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday and announced a political change with the backing of political, religious and youth leaders.

After an eventful day during which tanks and troops were mobilised near the presidential palace as the army's deadline to Morsi to bow before mass protests passed, chief of the armed forces General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced on television that the president has failed to meet the common people's aspirations.

The chief justice of the constitutional court, Adly Mansour, took over as the interim head of state.

The announcement had a massive repercussion as opponents and supporters of Morsi clashed in Alexandria following his ouster.

The ousted president, who had refused to bow before pressure, was reportedly held along with his aides at an undisclosed location on Wednesday night, hours after he was ousted. Sources in the Muslim Brotherhood party said they didn't know about their location while security officials believed that they were kept at a military intelligence facility.

US President Barack Obama said the USA was deeply concerned over Morsi's ouster.

Morsi's ouster signalled a second uprising in Egypt in two years. In 2011, the country had seen the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the dictator who had ruled for three decades.

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