Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi Monday said the dismissal of the country's powerful defence minister and a top military general has been done in the country's interest.
On Sunday, Morsi signed decrees on the retirement of Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, and the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Sami Anan.
Tantawi, the defence minister headed the military council which ruled Egypt for 17 months after the 2011 ouster of longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak.
“The decrees that I signed on Sunday on the dismissal of Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi and Military Chief of Staff Sami Anan were passed in the interests of Egypt,” said Morsi.
He also said that the reshuffle in the top brass “was not aimed at somebody personally and was not intended to intimidate or weaken any state structure”.
After Morsi signed decrees on the dismissal of Tantawi and Anan, both were immediately appointed as presidential advisors.
Also Sunday, Morsi cancelled a constitutional declaration aiming to limit presidential powers which the ruling army council issued in June.
The new Egyptian government led by Prime Minister Hesham Qandil was sworn in by President Morsi Aug 2.
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