Egypt's Morsy sends defense minister, top general to 'retirement'

Mohamed Morsy, Egypt's first freely elected leader, assumed office June 30.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Tantawi's 'expertise will be of higher value' as a presidential adviser, PM says


• Morsy has replaced the defense minister who took over for Mubarak, his spokesman says


• He also reversed a military decree claiming legislative power for the generals


• The moves come about a month after a previous face-off with the military

Cairo (CNN) -- Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy has removed the country's top two military officers and rescinded a June decree by the generals that kept lawmaking powers in their hands, his office announced Sunday.

Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi -- the defense minister who took power after the 2011 ouster of longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak -- and the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Sami Anan, "will be sent to retirement," Morsy spokesman Yasser Ali said Sunday evening on state-run Nile Television. Tantawi and Anan have been appointed as advisers to Morsy, the country's first elected president, but no details of the new posts were announced.

In addition, the government has reversed a June constitutional decree by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that claimed to retain legislative authority until a new parliament could be sworn in near the end of the year, Ali said.

"The president adheres to the legal procedures and the constitution in his decision," Prime Minister Hesham Kandil told CNN. He said Morsy "recognizes Field Marshal Tantawi's hard work in the transitional phase and his efforts in leading Egypt to safety during the revolution," but "His expertise will be of higher value as an adviser to the president."

Morsy has named Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi, the head of military intelligence, as the new defense minister and head of the Supreme Council with the rank of field marshal, Nile TV said.

The moves come a little over a month after the newly elected Morsy defied the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and attempted to recall the parliament that the generals ordered dissolved in late June. Egypt's top court blocked the effort.

Morsy's Freedom and Justice party called for supporters to rally in support of the move in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the revolt against Mubarak.

Meanwhile, Egyptian forces are battling militants in the Sinai Peninsula blamed for attacks that killed more than a dozen troops at a border post last week.

Morsy, Egypt's first freely elected leader, assumed office June 30. He took the helm of a deeply divided nation that is economically strapped and lacks a working government. He indicated that Egypt's legislative power would return to civilian hands -- and while praising the generals, he said their jobs were "to protect the boundaries and security of the country."

He moved quickly to assert his authority, attempting to call back into session lawmakers whose elections had been thrown out by a June decision from Egypt's Constitutional Court.

In the aftermath of the court decision, the generals announced that they would retain the power to make laws and budget decisions until a new parliament was elected under a new constitution. Under the military council's decree, Egypt's new constitution must be drawn up within three months.

Morsy's bid faltered when the Constitutional Court declared that its ruling was final.

Source & Image : CNN World