Egypt troops take control of state TV as deadline draws near

CAIRO: Egyptian armed forces have secured the central Cairo studios of state television on Wednesday, security sources said.

As a deadline approaches when the army high command is expected to step in and reorder Egypt's political institutions, the sources said staff not involved in working on live broadcasts had left the building.

Meanwhile, Egypt's armed forces chief was meeting Wednesday with opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei and top Sunni Muslim and Coptic Christian leaders, a source close to the military said.

The discussions with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi focused on the roadmap the military has threatened to impose at 1430 GMT on Wednesday unless Morsi "meets the demands of the people," following four days of mass protests calling for his resignation.

The talks involved Sisi, former UN nuclear watchdog chief ElBaradei, Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the top Sunni Muslim authority.

Also present were representatives of the Salafist Al-Nur Party and the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which the embattled president hails.

Members of the grassroots Tamarod movement, which mobilised millions of people onto the streets on Sunday to demand Morsi's resignation, were also party to the talks, according to the source.

The military issued its ultimatum to Morsi on Monday, giving him 48 hours to either find a solution to the crisis or face being imposed with a roadmap that it has drawn up.

Egypt's army will issue a statement after a deadline expires on Wednesday for President Mohamed Morsi to adhere to the ultimatum on resolving the country's political crisis.

Furthermore, Egypt's interior ministry has warned that it will respond firmly to any violence, in a statement issued about two hours before the expiry of an army deadline for Morsi to "meet the demands of the people" in the face of mass protests.

The ministry said police would "protect" people and act to prevent further bloodshed, after violence that has claimed 47 lives in Egypt since rival demonstrators took to the streets on June 26.