Celebrations were taking place across Egypt this evening after the military chief said President Mohammed Morsi had been forced out.
The head of Egypt's armed forces issued a declaration suspending the constitution and appointing the head of the constitutional court as interim head of state.
In a televised broadcast, flanked by military leaders, religious authorities and political figures, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi effectively declared the removal of elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
The president's aide has said the Egyptian leader Morsi has been moved to an undisclosed location.More pictures after the cut......
Fireworks light the sky as opponents of President Mohammed Morsi celebrate in Tahrir Square
Celebrations broke out after the head of Egypt's armed forces issued a declaration suspending the constitution
Army soldiers take their positions in front of anti-Morsi protestors near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo
Sisi called for presidential and parliamentary elections, a panel to review the constitution and a national reconciliation committee that would include youth movements.
He said the roadmap had been agreed by a range of political groups.
'The people and the army are one hand,' protestors cheered in the square, amid the roar of horns and chanting.
The Egyptian president’s national security adviser had warned earlier today that a military coup was underway and there would be ‘considerable bloodshed’ as millions of thousands of people took to the streets.
Army soldiers stand guard in front of protesters near the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo
The president's aide has said the Egyptian leader Morsi has been moved to an undisclosed location
Laser lights are flashed as protesters gather in Tahrir Square to celebrate the removal of President Morsi this evening
With troops and tanks taking up positions in keys part of major Egyptian cities and tensions high, there were unconfirmed reports that President Mohammed Morsi was under house arrest after the deadline set by the army for him to reach an agreement with opposition protestors expired.
His security adviser Essam El-Haddad said Mr Morsi was calling for peaceful resistance to the army’s ‘unlawful’ move against the democratically elected leader but stressed his supporters should not use violence.
However, he added : ‘In this day and age no military coup can succeed in the face of sizeable popular force without considerable bloodshed.
‘There are still people in Egypt who believe in their right to make a democratic choice. Hundreds of thousands of them have gathered in support of democracy and the presidency. And they will not leave in the face of this attack. To move them, there will have to be violence.’
An Egyptian army helicopter flies over protesters in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square
An Egyptian opposition protester holds a chair and knife during a clash between supporters and opponents of President Mohammed Morsi in downtown Damietta, Egypt, today
Egyptian protesters demonstrating against President Mohamed Morsi, in Tahrir Square, Cairo today. One of his top advisers has said the country is experiencing a coup
A coup would mean ousting a democratically elected president, the first in Egypt's history
Just before the military's deadline expired, Morsi repeated a vow not to step down
Nearly 40 people have died so far since the unprecedented protests began in Sunday and last night there were reports of bloody clashes between Islamist supporters of Mr Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood and troops in the capital Cairo.
With millions of anti-Morsi protestors on the streets of dozens of cities and towns celebrating in the belief the military is on their side and facing the president’s supporters, there were fears the death toll would rise significantly.
Mr Morsi had spent yesterday Wednesday working normally at a regular presidential office in a compound of the Republican Guard in suburban Cairo, officials said, while senior military figures held a series of meetings with opposition leaders aimed at ending the crisis.
There was no official word from the military, who have said repeatedly there would not be a coup, but soldiers were seen erecting barbed wire around the compound.
A coup would mean ousting the first democratically elected president in Egypt's history
Thousands of Egyptian protesters gathered gin Tahrir Square as the deadline given by the military to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi passed today
The president gave a defiant speech last night and vowed to stay in power despite the military threats
A military source said he expected the army to first call political, social and economic figures and youth activists for talks on its draft roadmap for the country’s future.
But observers said it certainly appeared to be a coup just one year after Mr Morsi was elected at the ballot box.
In a further sign of the extent of the military control, airport officials said a travel ban had been issued against Mr Morsi and Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie as well as his deputy Khairat el-Shater.
Officials said the travel ban is linked to Mr Morsi’s escape from prison with more than 30 other Muslim Brotherhood figures during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising against autocrat ex-president Hosni Mubarak.
As the afternoon ultimatum set by the army approached, the military had moved to tighten its control on key institutions yesterday, even putting officers in the newsroom of state TV with neither side prepared to compromise.
Danger: New images show the helicopter lit up by a flurry of laser pens during protests late on Sunday night
Attack: It would appear that protesters were attempting to distract the helicopter's pilot during the biggest civil unrest in the country since the 2011 uprising
Crack troops were deployed in news-production areas. Officers from the army’s media department moved inside the newsroom and were monitoring output, though not yet interfering, staffers said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk about the arrangements.
Military chiefs, vowing to restore order in a country racked by demonstrations against Mr Morsi’s Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined ‘The Final Hours’. They said they were willing to shed blood against ‘terrorists and fools’ after Mr Morsi refused to give up his elected office.
The president’s spokesman countered that it was better that he die in defence of democracy than be blamed by history.
In an emotional, rambling midnight television address, Mr Morsi insisted he was democratically elected and would stay in office to uphold the constitutional order, declaring: ‘The price of preserving legitimacy is my life.’
Defiance: Protesters hold up their shoes following a defiant speech by President Morsi last night. At least 23 people are thought to have been killed in clashes in the capital last night
Out in force: Tens of thousands of protestors gathered again on the streets of Cairo last night in the worst night of violence in the city yet
Trying to keep control: Plain-clothes policemen walk with protestors opposed to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi at the site of clashes with opposing protestors in the Kit Kat neighborhood of Giza, Egypt
‘There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president,’ Mr El-Haddad said at the movement’s protest encampment in a Cairo suburb that houses many military installations and is near the presidential palace.
‘We will not allow the will of the Egyptian people to be bullied again by the military machine.’
Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday issued a plea for an end to violence in Egypt, as The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) warned against all but essential travel to most parts of the country.
Patriotism: Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi unfurl a giant Egyptian national flag during protests last night
Uprising: Rallies turned violent after President Mohamed Morsi criticized an ultimatum by the military demanding a resolution to a deepening political crisis
Crowded: A protestor is seen in a mask while others wave banners and Egyptian flags during unrest yesterday
Mr Cameron said Mr Morsi must show he is responsive to the concerns of its citizens, adding : ‘These are deeply disturbing scenes, the level of violence is appalling. We should appeal to all sides to calm and stop the levels of violence, and particularly sexual assaults.'
Mr Cameron continued : ‘It is not for this country to support any single group or party. What we should support is proper democratic processes and proper government by consent.
‘Very clear messages have been sent to president Morsi - including by President Obama who spoke to him directly, and we have also been communicating through our ambassadors - that, yes, he has a democratic mandate and we respect that, but democracy also means ensuring that everyone has a voice and that leaders have a responsibility to represent all Egyptians and show they are responsive to their concerns.
Emotional: Mohammed Morsi, who a year ago was inaugurated as Egypt's first freely elected president, pledged to protect his 'constitutional legitimacy' with his life in an emotional televised speech
Defence: It comes as officials say sixteen people have been killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of Egypt's president as the country faces the prospect of civil war. Unofficial sources claiming the figure could be as many as 23
Outrage: Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi react angrily to his televised speech last night
Protest: Laser lights directed at a government building in Cairo show Morsi's name crossed out as protesters call for him to stand down
‘That’s what the government needs to do in order to bring about peace and stability in that country.’
Meanwhile, the FCO is advising against travel to all regions of Egypt except resorts on the Red Sea in South Sinai and in the Red Sea Governorate on the Egyptian mainland.
There are no travel restriction warnings for destinations in the region of Sharm el Sheikh, Taba, Nuweiba and Dahab which are popular with sun-seeking British tourists.
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