28/01/2014 09:30
Egypt army backs Sisi as presidential candidate
Egypt's top military body has given its approval for armed forces chief Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to run for the presidency, the BBC reported.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) said: "The people's trust in Sisi is a call that must be heeded as the free choice of the people."
Security sources say he will resign and announce his candidacy within days.
Field Marshal Sisi led the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi in July, following mass protests against him.
An election must take place by mid-April. Correspondents say Field Marshal Sisi would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people backed his candidacy at a rally in Cairo, after the field marshal said he wanted to gauge "public demand."
At the same time, almost 50 people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters demanding Mr Morsi's reinstatement.
Referring to the field marshal, the alliance led by Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood said on Sunday that the opposition protests showed "the people want the execution of the murderer" and not to "appoint the murderer as president."