Egyptian army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi formally resigned from the military Wednesday, paving the way for his long-anticipated run for the presidency.
Al-Sisi announced the decision in a TV broadcast, the BBC reports.
The Egyptian army deposed president Mohamed Morsi last year in the midst of mass protests against Morsi’s increasingly authoritarian rule, killing over a thousand of the former president’s Muslim Brotherhood supporters in widespread unrest. Broadly supported by Egyptians who opposed Mohammed Morsi’s presidency, al-Sisi is likely to win presidential elections expected later this year.
[BBC]
More Must-Reads From TIME
- What Wildfire Smoke Does to the Human Body
- Prince Harry Breaks Royal Convention to Testify in Court
- Teens Are Taking Wegovy for Weight Loss
- Elliot Page: Embracing My Trans Identity Saved Me
- How a Texas High Jumper Has Earned Nearly $1 Million
- What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means for Student Loan Borrowers
- How Past Lives Combines Memoir and Artistry
- 7 Ways to Get Better at Small Talk