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Behind Egypt's Coup, Acrimony between Morsi and Top General over Sinai
(AP-Washington Post) Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was deposed after nearly a year of acrimonious relations with the head of Egypt's military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, according to interviews with Egyptian defense, security and intelligence officials. The military was worried that Morsi was giving a free hand to Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Morsi ordered el-Sissi to halt a planned offensive in November on jihadis who had killed Egyptian soldiers. The military identified Gazan militants involved in the killing of the 16 soldiers, but Morsi rejected a request by el-Sissi that he ask Hamas to hand them over for trial. The military leadership has long held the conviction that the Brotherhood puts its regional Islamist ambitions above Egypt's security interests. Its alliances with Gaza's Hamas rulers and other Islamist groups alarmed the military. Officials said the military leadership also believed the Brotherhood was trying to co-opt commanders to turn against el-Sissi.