On July 3, 2013, then-President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi was overthrown by a coup d'etat led by Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who led a coalition to remove Morsi from power and suspend the Egyptian constitution of 2012. The move came after an ultimatum that the government "resolve its differences" with protesters during widespread national protests. Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders, were placed under house arrest and Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court Adly Mansour was declared interim president of Egypt. The announcement was followed by demonstrations and clashes between supporters and opponents of the move throughout Egypt. There were mixed international reactions to the events. Most Arab leaders were generally supportive or neutral, with the exception of Qatar, Tunisia and the SNC who strongly condemned the military's actions. The US avoided describing the action as a coup. Other states either condemned or expressed concern over the removal of Morsi. Due to the regulations of the African Union regarding the interruption of constitutional rule by a member state, Egypt was suspended from that union. Ensuing protests in favour of Morsi were violently suppressed culminating with the dispersal and massacre of pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August 2013, amid ongoing unrest; journalists and several hundred protestors were killed by police and military force. Muslim Brotherhood members claim 2,600 people were killed. Human Rights Watch documented a minimum of 904 deaths, describing it as crimes against humanity and "one of the world's largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history," while the government puts the figure at 624.
