In a surprise announcement, Egypt's interim Prime Minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, has said his government has resigned "in light of the current situation the country is going through".
Correspondents say that the cabinet, which was installed after the military ousted elected president Mohammed Morsi in early July, could be designed in part to pave the way for the nation's military chief to leave his Defense Minister's post to run for president.
PM el-Beblawi made the announcement in a televised broadcast but it is still unclear whether he would stay on or be replaced. The ministers however will stay in their posts in a caretaker capacity.
More than a thousand people have died and thousands others have been detained in a crackdown against Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood since the government took over. The enemies of Egypt’s new regime have recently intensified their attack, notably in the Sinai area, the country is also suffering from an acute shortage of cooking gas.
El-Beblawi has often been derided in the media for his perceived indecisiveness and inability to introduce effective remedies for the country's economic woes. He has also been criticized for the security forces' inability to prevent high-profile terror attacks blamed on militants sympathetic with Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood.