CAIRO: Safwat Abdel Dayem, Secretary General of the Egyptian Cabinet, has stepped down amid rising political crisis in the country, reports said. Moreover, governor of the city of Giza has also quit his post over clashes in al-Nahda Square after the security chief of the city was sacked over deadly clashes at Cairo University.
Meanwhile, Egypt braced for a showdown as an army deadline to Egypt President Mohamed Morsi to meet the demands of millions of protesters or face army intervention expired on Wednesday.
On Monday, the military had issued its ultimatum to Morsi, giving him 48 hours to either find a solution to the crisis or face being imposed with a roadmap that it has drawn up.
President Morsi has insisted that he will not step down, vowing to protect his legitimacy. The embattled president says people chose him in a free election and that he feels obliged to stay in office.
Security sources said Egyptian troops with armoured vehicles have secured the central Cairo studios of state television. The sources said staff not involved in working on live broadcasts had left the building.
Meanwhile, the general command of the Egyptian armed forces was meeting with religious, national, political and youth figures, the army said on its official Facebook page.
“The General Command of the Armed Forces is currently meeting with a number of religious, national, political and youth icons … There will be a statement issued from the General Command as soon as they are done,” the army said.
