The Egyptian army says it is ready to die in defending the people of Egypt, in a thinly-veiled reaction to President Mohamed Morsi, who recently defied an ultimatum by the country’s military.
“We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool,” Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed forces (SCAF), headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Monday, the Egyptian army gave Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum to reach a power-sharing compromise with the opposition, adding that if there was no action by the deadline, the armed forces would intervene with a “roadmap” of their own.

Morsi later defied the ultimatum in his personal Twitter account, asking the military to cancel the call.

The developments come as clashes between the supporters and the opponents of Morsi continue, with a resulting death toll of about 50.

The Egyptian president has described himself as the “guardian of legitimacy” and accused ‘remnants of the previous regime’ of being responsible for the deadly violence the country has been witnessing over the past few days.

On the other hand, Egyptian opposition groups accuse Morsi of ignoring the people's demands.

The organizers of “Tammarod,” a campaign that has organized the recent anti-Morsi rallies, say they no longer consider Morsi their president.

A number of Egyptian officials, including Presidential spokesmen Ehab Fahmy and Omar Amer, cabinet spokesman Alaa al-Hadidi, Foreign Minister Kamel Amr and the ministers of tourism, environment, communication and legal affairs, have resigned amid the chaos.

By Press TV

 

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