Egypt’s army gives parties 48 hours to resolve crisis

EGYPT’S ARMY has given the country’s rival parties 48 hours to resolve a deadly political crisis.The army would offer a “road map” for peace if Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his opponents failed to heed “the will of the people”, it said.Given the inability of politicians from all sides to agree until now, it seems unlikely Morsi can survive in power, says the BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Cairo. On Sunday millions rallied in cities nationwide, urging Morsi to quit.Protests continued on Monday, and eight people died as activists stormed and ransacked the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, to which the president belongs.He became Egypt’s first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.The head of the armed forces described Sunday’s protests as an “unprecedented” expression of the popular will.In a statement read out by a spokesman on state television on Monday evening, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the army would not get involved in politics or government. An undated photograph posted on the president’s official Facebook page on Monday evening showed Morsi smiling with Gen Sisi and Prime Minister Hisham Qandil.But to many, the situation looks like a military coup in the making, says our correspondent.The opposition movement behind the protests, Tamarod (Rebel), welcomed the statement, but said it would continue demonstrations to force Mr Morsi out.There were scenes of flag-waving jubilation in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where Tamarod supporters believed the statement spelt the end for a president they accuse of putting the Brotherhood’s interests ahead of the country’s as a whole.As five helicopters flew over the square with huge Egyptian flags hanging below them, the crowds chanted: “The army and the people are one hand.”