Hussein Tantawi and Sami Enan step down as defence minister and chief of staff as Morsi revokes military's interim powers

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Egypt's president, Mohamed Morsi, has ordered Egypt's two top generals to retire and revoked a military-declared constitutional amendment that gave them wide powers.

Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, who led Egypt after Hosni Mubarak was ousted, retires as defence minster and Sami Enan steps down as chief of staff.

The decisions are effective immediately, presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said in a news conference broadcast on state TV on Sunday.

The cancelled constitutional declaration was issued by the ruling army council in June and aimed to limit presidential powers as the election that brought Morsi to office drew to a close.

The new Morsi-appointed defence minister is Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. A senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, has been appointed vice-president. Tantawi and Enan have become presidential advisers.