Deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi may have invited more trouble unto himself by insisting on continuing in office. Latest reports from Egypt say the hardline Islamist politician was last night put under house arrest by the military which also rounded up some of his top supporters.

Saad El-Katatni, who heads the Freedom and Justice Party – the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood on whose back the 61 years old Morsi assumed office in June 2012 after winning the country’s first democratic elections – has been detained. The same fate has befallen Rashad Bayoumi, the deputy head of the Islamist movement.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Egypt over the military’s swift action in deposing Morsi. At least eight people have been killed and more than 340 wounded in sporadic violence that at times pitted Morsi’s supporters against the opposition and the military.

Morsi “did not achieve the goals of the people” and failed to meet the generals’ demands that he share power with his opposition, Egypt’s top military officer, Gen. Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi, said last night in a televised speech to the nation.

Adly Mansour, head of the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court, has been appointed interim president and is expected to be sworn in today.

Putting yeterday’s events in proper perspective, Egypt’s Ahram Online said said it is a “milestone (that) marks a new phase in the Egyptian revolution, one which many had awaited since Mubarak stepped down in February 2011.” According to it, “The statement, read out by military chief-of-staff Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, describes a roadmap that includes the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, suspending the constitution temporarily, and handing over power to the head of Egypt’s High Constitutional Court.

“The roadmap, which various political and religious figures participated in drafting, includes forming a committee for revising the constitution, formation of a council for ‘national reconciliation,’ revising laws for parliamentary elections and holding early presidential elections.

Attendees at the press conference where El-Sisi gave his speech included a number of top military and police officials who sat in two rows on either side of the podium.

“They included the Coptic Orthodox patriarch Tawadros II, the grand imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Mohamed ElBaradei, a representative of the Salafist Nour Party, Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, one of the anti-Morsi Rebel campaign's founders, and a senior judicial figure. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party refused to join the meeting.

“The statement was received with enthusiasm and cheers by anti-Morsi protesters to close the first chapter of the Egyptian revolution and mark the end of the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The army took these actions following the massive demonstrations, marches and sit-ins that started on 30 June throughout the country. According to some estimates, as many as 17 million Egyptians took to the streets.”

•Photo courtesy CNN: Ecstatic protesters celebrate in front of an army tank.

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