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PHOTOS: Egypt President Morsi overthrown

By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com
Shouts of joy emanate from Tahrir Square after a broadcast by the head of the Egyptian military confirming that they will temporarily be taking over leadership after removing the country's first democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi from power, on July 3, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. As unrest spreads throughout the country, at least 23 people were killed in Cairo on Tuesday and over 200 others were injured. UPI/Ahmed Jomaa
1 of 62 | Shouts of joy emanate from Tahrir Square after a broadcast by the head of the Egyptian military confirming that they will temporarily be taking over leadership after removing the country's first democratically elected president Mohammed Morsi from power, on July 3, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. As unrest spreads throughout the country, at least 23 people were killed in Cairo on Tuesday and over 200 others were injured. UPI/Ahmed Jomaa | License Photo

Thousands of Egyptians gathered in public squares across the country for days leading up to Wednesday, when the military announced it had deposed President Mohamed Morsi.

In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the scene of weeks of demonstrations leading up to former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster in 2011, again filled with Egyptians airing grievances against a government they said was failing to respond to their demands.

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On Monday, the military issued an ultimatum to Morsi, giving him 48 hours to step down from office. He was defiant, up to and past the moment a coalition of military and religious leaders announced on state television Morsi's government had been deposed and the constitution suspended.

As tanks rolled through Cairo, Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced a roadmap to a establish a new government.

"The president’s speech last night failed to meet and conform with the demands," forcing the action with "some of the symbols of the national forces and the youths without excluding anyone," al-Sisi said. The agreed-upon road map "includes initial steps that realize the building of a strong and coherent Egyptian society that doesn’t exclude any of its sons and currents and that end the state of conflict and division."

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Morsi was defiant, tweeting that he "urges civilians and military members to uphold the law and the constitution not to accept that coup which turns Egypt backwards."

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