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| General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi makes the televised announcement |
Egypt's army has removed President Mohammed Morsi from power, suspended the constitution and pledged new elections following mass protests.
The army chief announced the move in a TV address. The head of the
constitutional court is expected to be sworn in as interim leader on
Thursday.
Mr Morsi's supporters denounced the move as a military coup and said he was being held in detention.
His opponents celebrated through the night in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
But officials from Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood said its
main rally in Cairo had come under attack by armed assailants and there
were reports of deadly clashes elsewhere.
US President Barack Obama said he was "deeply concerned" by
the latest turn of events and called for a swift return to civilian
rule.
'Military coup'
The military moved quickly after the TV address by army chief
Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who said Mr Morsi, Egypt's first freely
elected president, had "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian
people".
Military vehicles were seen fanning out across the capital.
Muslim Brotherhood media spokesman Gehad el-Haddad told the
BBC that Mr Morsi had been put under house arrest and the "entire
presidential team" was in detention.
Mr Haddad's father, senior Morsi aide Essam el-Haddad, and
Saad al-Katatni, head of the Brotherhood's political wing, were among
those held.
State-run al-Ahram newspaper reported that arrest warrants
had been issued for 300 leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
TV stations belonging to the Brotherhood went off air at the
end of Gen Sisi's speech and state news agency Mena said managers at the
movement's Misr25 channel had been arrested.
Mr Haddad said a crowd of some 2,000 Morsi supporters had
been shot at by men in civilian dress with machine guns at the main
Brotherhood rally.
A notice on Mr Morsi's Facebook page denounced the army for its "military coup".
The statement asked Egyptian citizens - both civilians and
military - to "abide by the constitution and the law and not to respond
to this coup".
But a number of clashes were reported in several Egyptian cities. At
least 10 people were said to have been killed in the coastal cities of
Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh, as well as in the southern city of Minya.
In Tahrir Square, thousands of anti-Morsi protesters celebrated with fireworks and honking car horns.
One protester, Omar Sherif, told Agence France-Presse: "It's a
new historical moment. We got rid of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood."
The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Cairo says no-one knows what will
happen next. The danger, he says, is that both sides will try to settle
differences by bringing supporters on to the streets.
The army has said it will not allow that to happen but, our correspondent says, it will not be easy to stop.
'Roadmap'
The army's move to depose the president followed four days of
mass street demonstrations against Mr Morsi and an ultimatum issued by
the military which expired on Wednesday afternoon.
Gen Sisi said in his speech that the armed forces could not stay silent and blind to the call of the Egyptian masses.
He spoke of a new roadmap for the future, and said that the
chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, would
be given the task of "running the country's affairs during the
transitional period until the election of a new president".
He is scheduled to be sworn in as head of state at 10:00 (08:00 GMT).
After Gen Sisi's address, both Pope Tawadros II - the head of
the Coptic Church - and leading opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei
made short televised speeches about the new roadmap for Egypt's future
which they had agreed with the army.
Mr ElBaradei said the roadmap aimed for national reconciliation and represented a fresh start to the January 2011 revolution.
"This roadmap has been drafted by honourable people who seek
the interests, first and foremost, of the country," added Pope Tawadros.
Opposition leader and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa
told AFP news agency that consultations for a government and
reconciliation "will start from now".
Reacting to the army announcement, President Obama said he
hoped to see a quick restoration of a democratically elected government
in Egypt.
He ordered a review of US foreign aid to Egypt which by US law must
be suspended in the event an elected leader is deposed by a military
coup.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also voiced his concern, appealing for calm and restraint in Egypt.
Sinking economy
Mr Morsi 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.
However his term in office was marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
The mass protests at the weekend that led to the army's
intervention were called by the Tamarod (Rebel) movement, in response to
worsening social and economic conditions.
But there has been a growing sense of discontent since last
November, when Mr Morsi issued a controversial constitutional
declaration granting himself extensive powers.
His moves to entrench Islamic laws and concentrate power in
the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood also alienated liberals and
secularists.
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