Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO  — Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Sisi has resigned as part of his drive to become Egypt’s next president.

Sisi, who led the military coup against Egypt’s first Islamist president, declared his candidacy to succeed Mohammed Morsi. In a televised address, the 59-year-old Sisi said he was resigning his positions as minister and military commander.

“True, today is my last day in military uniform, but I will continue to fight every day for an Egypt free of fear and terrorism,” Sisi said on March 26.

In his appearance, Sisi, who still wore his army uniform, pledged to focus on the counter-insurgency campaign in Egypt. But he warned against short-term results amid the daily attacks by Al Qaida-aligned militias in the Sinai Peninsula and the African mainland.

“I cannot make miracles,” Sisi said.

The announcement was expected to advance the career of Gen. Sobhi Sodki. Egyptian sources said Sodki, already promoted to colonel-general, would be appointed the new defense minister.

Sisi, a U.S.-trained officer who wooed Russia for arms sales, has overseen a crackdown on the ousted Muslim Brotherhood since Morsi was overthrown in July 2013. On March 24, an Egyptian court sentenced to death
529 Brotherhood supporters in a move that sparked protests from the West.

“There will not be security or stability under his presidency,” Brotherhood leader Ibrahim Munir said.

  Abdul Fatah Sisi, Gen. Sobhi Sodki, Mohammed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Sisi resigns top military post, vows fight for ‘an Egypt free of fear’, WorldTribune