Egypt military coup: Pictures and eyewitness account of jubilation in Cairo's Tahrir Square!

It started with a whisper that built to a tsunami of jubilation.

Chief justice Adly Mansour takes oath hours after democratically elected Mohamed Morsi overthrown by military.

At 9.05pm, one group on the outskirts of Tahrir Square heard the news that President Morsi had gone.

 

In an instant, a ripple of recognition built to a wave of ecstasy that swept the tens of thousands gathered to see the fall of the hated head of state.
A fourth of July of fireworks erupted into the sky, along with the obligatory green lasers.

 

Then, two soldiers resplendent in pristine white uniforms were carried above the heads of the crowd deep into the masses where they were greeted with jubilation.

 

Only in Egypt can a military coup overthrow a democratically elected government and be greeted with overwhelming support.
The army here, unlike many countries, is there to protect the people.
Two years ago the army stood by as tens of thousands gathered in the same square to bring about the downfall of detested dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Tanks were dotted around the square but the soldiers, far from threatening, protected the protestors with senior officers ignoring requests from the president to use force to crush the opposition.

 

The soldiers simply had no wish to turn their guns on their own people.
This week, the people spoke again.
They wanted an end to the Muslim Brotherhood government which had gone from a loose coalition of voices to a narrow Islamist agenda.
The people spoke and the army responded.

 

As the soldiers passed by, smiling and chanting along with the crowd holding them above their heads, one jubilant Egyptian said: "He has gone, the army have helped us."
Memories of the transition from Mubarak to military rule two years ago now seems distant to many Egyptians.

Then, there were fears that the military would remain control and not hand over power to the people. After protests they eventually did.

But by forcing Morsi out of office, they have shown that the generals are not too far away from the levers of power and seem reluctant to fully let go.
But in Tahrir Square it mattered little. The tens of thousands were joined by many more who flooded into the concrete plaza on hearing the news.
Nobody wanted to miss the party.

A few miles away, a small crowd of Muslim Brotherhood supporters stood dejected and surrounded by friendly soldiers.
The organisation had waited decades to gain control of Egypt and within a year they had lost it.
But in the elections promised soon they could well be back.