Egyptian army seen as saviour of the people with ultimatum for Mursi
All past fury is forgotten as protesters welcome ultimatum for Mursi to resolve stand-off
The Egyptian army's reprised role as hero in a new act of the country's political drama has been celebrated by protesters as a decisive blow against an unpopular president just 2½ years after the military unseated his predecessor.
Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted in party scenes reminiscent of the night Hosni Mubarak was forced from office in 2011, as hundreds of thousands of people rejoiced at an army statement they believed heralded the end of President Mohammed Mursi's rule.
Spurred on by mass anti-Mursi protests, the army gave the president and his opponents 48 hours to resolve a stand-off that has beset his first year in office. Failure to meet the people's demands, the army said, would result in the military unveiling and implementing its own road map for the country.
In 2011, as now, the protesters praised the army for responding to the "will of the people", disregarding the Islamists rallying in smaller numbers across the other side of town in support of the president freely elected last year.
In Tahrir, there was no talk of the tensions that made the generals the focus of fury during 17 months of military rule punctuated with crises.
"The army and the people are one hand!" they chanted - a refrain heard the night Mubarak was toppled - as five army helicopters flying Egyptian flags circled over central Cairo.