Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has called for a speedy end to the transitional period in order to restore peace and stability in the violence-wracked country.


General Sisi, who toppled the country’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in July, made the remarks during an address to soldiers and police officers at a seminar in the capital Cairo.

He said a rapid end of the transitional period would help Egypt face national security challenges.

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," the army spokesman's official Facebook page said.

He censured the attempts to undermine the country's army and security institutions, saying they are efforts to ruin the entire nation.

Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since July 3, when the army ousted Morsi’s government, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the parliament. It also appointed the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmoud Mansour, as the new interim president.

The government of Mansour has launched a bloody crackdown on Morsi supporters and arrested more than 2,000 Brotherhood members, including the party’s leader, Mohamed Badie, who was detained on August 20.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi supporters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a deadly operation on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.