Islamist President Mohamed Morsi
met the head of Egypt's armed forces along with the prime minister on Monday,
according to a statement on the president's official Facebook page.
The page was updated after General Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi issued a virtual ultimatum to Morsi to reach a power-sharing
agreement with his political rivals within 48 hours.
The Facebook page showed a photograph of Morsi
with Sisi and Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, sitting in easy chairs and smiling.
It was not clear when it was taken.
This comes as five Egyptian military helicopters trailing national flags circled over Cairo after the armed forces gave politicians 48 hours to resolve a crisis over calls for the resignation of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Anti-Morsi protesters rallying in the central Tahrir Square, focus of the 2011 uprising that overthrew autocratic President Hosni Mubarak, cheered as the choppers flew overhead.
Silhouetted against a sweltering sunset, the helicopters symbolized the army's determination to force feuding politicians to share power.
Meanwhile, Egyptian security forces arrested 15 armed bodyguards of senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat El-Shater after an exchange of fire in which no one was injured, security sources said.
Shater's family telephoned Al Jazeera television station to report that his home was under police attack.
The sources said security forces were involved in an exchange of fire with the guards after going to arrest them for alleged unlawful possession of firearms.
Shater's whereabouts were not immediately known. He is widely regarded as the strongest personality in the Islamist movement, but who was barred from running for president last year because he had been jailed under toppled ex-President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule.
This incident comes as the head of Egypt's armed forces gave politicians 48 hours to answer demands made by the Egyptian people or the military would offer its own "road map for the future".
In a statement read on state television, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called mass protests on Sunday, which called for Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to resign, an "unprecedented" expression of the popular will.
In this regard, four Egyptian ministers resigned from the government, a cabinet official said, a day after protesters poured onto streets to demand President Mohamed Morsi resign.
"Four ministers presented their resignations today," said the official, who asked not to be named. He gave no reason but the state news agency had earlier said the ministers were considering resigning in sympathy with the protesters.
The four were Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou, Communication and Information Technology Atef Helmi, Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Hatem Bagato and Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Khaled Abdel-Aal.
On another note, Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood said that armed men who ransacked its national headquarters had crossed a red line of violence, and the movement was considering action to defend itself.
Gehad El-Haddad, spokesman of the Islamist movement, told Reuters in a telephone interview that Egyptians would not sit by and tolerate attacks on their institutions.
Haddad referred to the creation of people's self-defense committees during the 2011 uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak. Asked whether the Brotherhood was calling for a similar move now, he said the movement's Guidance Bureau was in session and would make an announcement at a news conference later on Monday.
Earlier in the day, dozens of militants attacked the
Brotherhood's national headquarters in Cairo with shotguns, petrol bombs and
rocks, setting it on fire, and targeted offices of its political party across
the country.
There was no sign of police or fire
service protection for the Brotherhood's head office, where witnesses said
guards inside the building fired on the attackers. Two people died and 11 were
injured in that clash, hospital sources said.
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Egypt's second biggest Islamist party said on Monday it feared the army's return to public life "in a big way" after the military gave politicians 48 hours to resolve the country's political crisis.
The Nour Party believed Egypt's national security was threatened by the division between the ruling Islamists and their opponents, Khaled Alam Eddin told the website of the Al-Ahram newspaper. "But we have fears about a return of the army once again in the picture in a big way," he said.
This as a senior Muslim Brotherhood politician said that no state institution would stage a coup against elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and warned against misinterpreting an army statement.
"For an institution of state to come and stage a coup against the president, this will not happen," said Yasser Hamza, a leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. "Any force that goes against the constitution is a call for sabotage and anarchy."
In turn, the founder of an Egyptian protest movement which brought millions out to demand President Mohamed Morsi resign said he welcomed an ultimatum from the army to politicians and urged people to rally again until Morsi quit.
Mahmoud Badr, of the "Tamarud - Rebel!" coalition told a televised news conference: "The statement of the armed forces has a single idea - supporting the will of the Egyptian people at this moment, which means early presidential elections."
As well, former Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa welcomed the army statement giving rival politicians 48 hours to resolve the country's standoff, saying it reflected the will of the people.
For his part, U.S. President Barack Obama prodded the government of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to work with the opposition and do more to enact democratic reforms, saying U.S. aid to the country was based on such criteria.
Obama, speaking at a news conference in Tanzania, said the United States was concerned about the violence in Egypt and urged all sides to work towards a peaceful solution.
REUTERS/AP
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