Egypt’S Morsi Under House Arrest – Al Hayat TV

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is reportedly under house arrest after the military ultimatum expired Wednesday, reports Al Hayat TV.

Morsi’s spokesman denied the report, although word of the house arrest provoked cheers in Tahrir Square.

This comes as Egypt’s military moved to tighten its control on key institutions before their afternoon ultimatum expired.

The military stationed officers in the newsroom of state television on the banks of the Nile River in central Cairo. Troops were deployed in news-production areas.

Officers from the army’s media department moved inside the newsroom and were monitoring output, though not yet interfering, staffers said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the arrangements.

This move shows the military’s preparation for an almost certain push to remove the country’s Islamist president when an afternoon ultimatum expires.

Earlier Wednesday, Egyptian leaders met with the army chief. This meeting also signaled the military was taking concrete moves toward implementing its plan to replace Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected leader who came to office a year ago.

The clock is ticking and no one is really sure exactly what will happen when the deadline is reached. It was imposed by Egypt’s military Tuesday after massive demonstrations in the nation’s capitol and it will be reached at 7 a.m. – 8 a.m. PT.

Under a plan leaked to state media, the military would install a new interim leadership, the Islamist-backed constitution suspended and the Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved.

Demonstrations turned violent overnight. Clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s president have left at least 39 people dead since the protests began Sunday.

Opponents of Morsi claim his mistakes in running the country have cost him legitimacy. They want him to step down immediately.

Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is standing by him. Late Tuesday, Morsi gave a defiant speech, insisting he is staying in power. He also wants the military to stand down.

Experts watching the situation feel that Morsi lost the trust of the people early on when he and the Muslim Brotherhood took power and made changes to the country’s constitution.

“It is not the economy. It is the quest for freedom and feeling that they have been betrayed and the resenting to replace a dictatorship of Mubarak by a theocracy dictatorship, where it will be the dictator is ruling but garbing himself in religion,” said Dr. Maher Hathout with the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama is urging Morsi to address the people’s grievances and the White House is also warning Egypt’s military that a coup could jeopardize relations with the United States.

The tension in Egypt is having an impact on global markets – especially the oil markets. Oil is now trading above $100 a barrel for the first time in close to a year. Egypt’s Suez Canal is a major transit route for crude shipments from the Persian Gulf.

Source: ABC News & the Associated Press