The head of Egypt’s Armed Forces issued on Monday a 48-hour ultimatum to all Egyptian political forces to reach a resolution or face a military “road map for the future” that “will not exclude anyone.”
General AbdelFattah al-Sissi called mass protests on Sunday, which called for Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to resign, an “unprecedented” expression of the popular will.
The statement came after mass nationwide protests demanding the ouster of Islamist President Mohammad Mursi.
Opposition leader Hamdeen Sabbahi had called on Sunday for military intervention if Mursi refused to step down.
“The armed forces must act, because they have always been on the side of the people who have expressed their will,” said Sabbahi, a candidate in the previous presidential elections.
The Opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) urged the military to declare President Mursi “illegitimate” and force him to step down “immediately.”
Gen. Sami Annan, meanwhile, resigned from the president’s advisory council, according to Egyptian media reports. Annan was the army chief of staff before he was removed from his post by President Mursi.
Gen. Sissi said the ultimatum was a “last chance” and described the mass protests on Sunday that brought out millions of Egyptians demanding Mursi’s ouster as “glorious.” It said protesters expressed their opinion “in a peaceful and civilized manner,” and that “it is necessary that the people get a reply… to their calls.”
The military underlined it will “not be a party in politics or rule.” But it said it has a responsibility to act because Egypt’s national security is facing a “grave danger,” according to the statement, read out on state television.
“The Armed Forces repeat its call for the people’s demands to be met and give everyone 48 hours as a last chance to shoulder the burden of a historic moment for a nation that will not forgive or tolerate any party that is lax in shouldering its responsibility,” it said.
It did not directly define “the people’s demands,” but said if they are not realized, the military is obliged to “announce a road-map for the future and the steps for overseeing its implementation, with participation of all patriotic and sincere parties and movements.”
It is the second ultimatum to be given to Mursi and the opposition to reach an agreement.
A week before the June 30 rallies, Gen. Sissi made threats of intervention if there was bloodshed and said the powerful military will not allow “attack on the will of the people” and urged Egyptians to seek consensus.
“The armed forces have an obligation to intervene to stop Egypt from plunging into a dark tunnel of conflict and infighting,” the army chief warned on the eve of the first anniversary of President Mursi’s election as opposition leaders clamored for his resignation, AFP reported.
“It is the national and moral duty of the army to intervene… to prevent sectarian strife or the collapse of state institutions,” Gen. Sisi added.
During Sunday rallies, a number of people were killed and hundreds others injured as opposition members clashed with supporters of President Mursi.
The headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo was torched and the offices of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) were also set on fire in several provinces.