African Union suspends egypt of coup.

President Mohamed Mursi
Supporters, opponents of ousted president clash in
Cairo
By Yemi Adebowale and Damilola Oyedele, with
agency reports
The African Union Friday suspended Egypt from all
its activities after the Egyptian military overthrew
elected President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday.
Also Friday, supporters and opponents of ousted
President Morsi clashed hours after three pro-Morsi
protesters were killed by army fire in Cairo.
The Secretary of the AU Peace and Security Council,
Admore Kambudzi made the suspension
announcement in Addis Ababa after an emergency
meeting of the council on the Egyptian crisis.
"The overthrow of the democratically elected
president does not conform with the relevant
provisions of the Egyptian constitution and is
therefore false under the definition of an
unconstitutional change of government. The council
decided to suspend the participation of Egypt in AU
activities until the restoration of constitutional
order." Kambudzi said.
However, the Chairperson of the Commission, Dr.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma expressed readiness to
assist the troubled country to find a solution to the
ongoing crises.
Zuma expressed concern at the prevailing tension in
the country "with the accompanying risks to security,
stability and the consolidation of the democratic
process."
According to a news release on the AU website, the
Commission would soon dispatch eminent African
personalities to consult and assist in the
commencement of a responsible and constructive
dialogue that would help the country overcome its
current situation.
Earlier on Friday, the Ambassador of Egypt to the
AU, Mr. Mohamed Edress had expressed the wishes
of his country to retain its membership and "continue
to take part in this family."
Suspension is AU's usual response to any interruption
of constitutional rule by a member state. In March, it
suspended the Central African Republic after rebels
overthrew the government. In recent years, it has
meted out similar treatment to Madagascar and
Mali, although Mali's suspension has since been
lifted.
Tunisia and Turkey were among Muslim countries to
denounce Morsi's overthrow as a coup. The United
States and European Union refrained from using that
description but called for a swift return to democratic
rule.
Following the swearing-in of Adli Mansour on
Thursday as interim head of state, the next step in
the Egyptian army's "road map" to democracy is the
formation of an interim government in the next few
days. One state newspaper said it should be ready on
Sunday.
Meanwhile, for most of Friday, rival groups for and
against Morsi hurled fireworks and stones at each
other across Cairo's 6th October Bridge, near Tahrir
Square.
The clashes came after a large crowd of Morsi
supporters surged across the 6th October Bridge,
over the Nile River, towards Tahrir Square where
many of the former president supporters are
gathered.
Earlier, the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme leader,
Mohammed Badie, had told tens of thousands of
Morsi supporters outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya
Mosque that protests would continue until the
deposed president was reinstated.
Morsi hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, and both
have been accused of pursuing an Islamist agenda
against the wishes of the majority and of failing to
tackle economic problems.
The army removed Morsi from power on Wednesday
after millions of people protested over his leadership.