Egypt's army chief Sisi calls fora quick transition to elections

Egypt's army chief has called for a quick transition to elections to restore stability to the country, while supporters of the Islamist president he ousted, Mohammed Mursi, staged daring protests urging an end to "military government".

Mursi's supporters returned to Cairo's Tahrir Square to demonstrate there for the first time since he was removed from power in July.

Since then, political tensions and a sharp rise in attacks by Islamist militants have hit tourism and investment in Egypt, the most populous Arab state, which depends heavily on US aid.

Speaking to soldiers and police officers at a seminar, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "called on everyone to be truly aware of the size of the problems facing society, and which necessitate speeding up the end of the transitional phase", according to the army spokesman's official Facebook page.

In a reference to Mursi's year in power, Sisi condemned what he said were attempts to distort "a ruling experience that failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people" and portray it as a "religious battle and a war on Islam".

After toppling Mursi, the military installed an interim government and announced a "road map" for a transition to a new election. The Muslim Brotherhood, of which Mursi had been a prominent member before being elected president, accused the military of staging a coup that removed Egypt's first freely elected president.

Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said last week that the transitional phase of government should end "by next spring".