Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Orla Guerin: "Sisi has the institutions of state behind him" 
 
 Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has announced that he has resigned as Egypt's military chief in order to stand for the presidency. 
 
 In a widely expected announcement, he said on state TV he was appearing "in my military uniform for the last time". 
 
 Field Marshal Sisi led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July after mass opposition protests. 
 
 Correspondents say he is likely to win the presidency, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals. 
 
 Analysis Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has surprised no-one by announcing his farewell to arms. His exit from Egypt's military was carefully choreographed over a period of months. In or out of uniform he will be viewed as the military's man. Just three years after the revolution - which was supposed to end decades of military rule - Egypt's generals are again supplying the country's leader. The softly spoken former intelligence chief - with no combat experience - will now have to fight on several fronts. He will inherit a bitterly divided nation, a crippled economy and a growing insurgency. Diplomatic sources say he is a reluctant candidate who is well aware of the pitfalls ahead. One problem he won't have is winning. Sisi enjoys huge support, and so far has no serious challengers. Some potential candidates have refused to run saying the opposition can't campaign freely and the election will be a farce. Analysts warn that Sisi's strong support could wane if he can't make progress fast. 
 
 To his supporters, the 59-year-old former army chief is a saviour who can end the political turmoil dogging Egypt since 2011 when a popular uprising ended Hosni Mubarak's three decades of one-man rule. 
 
 But his opponents hold him responsible for what human rights groups say are widespread abuses, and fear that he wants a return to authoritarianism. 
 
 His announcement came hours after Egypt's interim authorities ordered the prosecution of 919 suspected Islamists and days after 528 were sentenced to death in a separate case. 
 
 'Difficult task' 
 
 In his address, Field Marshal Sisi told Egyptians he first wore his military uniform as a 15-year-old cadet and said: "I will always be proud of wearing the uniform of defending my country." 
 
 But he said he was answering "the demand of a wide range of Egyptians who have called on me to run for this honourable office". 
 
 He warned of an "extremely difficult task" ahead for Egyptians as the country faces up to its "economic, social, political and security realities", including a threat "by the terrorists". 
 
 But he proposed "hard work and self-denial". "If I am granted the honour of the leadership," he said, "I promise that we together, leadership and people, can achieve stability, safety and hope for Egypt". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC News profiles Egypt's President-in-waiting, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi 
 
 The starting date of the nomination process for the presidential election will reportedly be announced on Sunday, after which no changes may be made to the electoral roll. 
 
 Rise through the ranks Image copyright AFP Image caption The field marshal is widely expected to become president of Egypt, the most populous Arab nation Born in Cairo on 19 November 1954 
 
 Graduated from Egypt's Military Academy in 1977 
 
 Further training in UK and US 
 
 Youngest member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after 2011 uprising topples Hosni Mubarak 
 
 Appointed commander-in-chief of armed forces and defence minister in 2012 by President Mohammed Morsi 
 
 Overthrows Mr Morsi, suspends constitution and installs interim government in 2013 following mass opposition protests 
 
 Promoted to field marshal in January 2014 New face of Egypt's old guard Joy, anger and mockery greet announcement 
 
 Sisi announcement 
 
 The government has yet to set a date for the vote, although earlier this month al-Ahram newspaper cited interim President Adly Mansour as saying that it would be completed by 17 July. 
 
 Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election, is the only other candidate to have declared his intention to run. 
 
 Gen Sedki Sobhi, the current chief-of-staff of the armed forces, is expected to be named Field Marshal Sisi's successor. 
 
 If Abdul Fattah al-Sisi becomes president, he will be the latest in a line of Egyptian rulers drawn from the military; a line only briefly broken during Islamist President Morsi's year in office. 
 
 Mr Morsi appointed Field Marshal Sisi as both military commander-in-chief and defence minister in August 2012 - a move seen at the time as an attempt to reclaim power from the military, which had assumed interim control after President Mubarak's fall. 
 
 But following mass protests a year later demanding the resignation of Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood-led government, it was Field Marshal Sisi who told the leadership to respond to "the will of the people" or risk army intervention. 
 
 When Mr Morsi refused, Field Marshal Sisi suspended the constitution and announced the formation of a technocratic interim government. 
 
 Since then, more than 1,000 people have been killed and thousands of members of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood have been detained in a crackdown by the interim authorities, who have designated the Islamist movement a terrorist group. 
 
 Mr Morsi and many other senior Brotherhood leaders are currently being tried on a variety of charges, including incitement to murder and conspiring to commit terrorist acts. ||||| Egypt's state news agency says the country's top prosecutor has referred ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to trial on charges of inciting the killing of opponents protesting outside his palace while he was in office. 
 
 A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chants slogans against Egyptian Army during a march following Friday Muslim prayers at Nasser City in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Aug. 30, 2013. Tens of... (Associated Press) 
 
 The military ousted Morsi on July 3 after millions took to the street demanding he step down. He's been held incommunicado since. Prosecutors have accused him of conspiring with foreign groups to break out of prison during the chaos of the country's 2011 uprising. 
 
 Sunday's decision however is the first referral to trial. Morsi will be tried, along with 14 members of his Muslim Brotherhood, in a criminal court for allegedly committing acts of violence, inciting the killing of at least 10. 
 
 No date was announced for the trial. 
 
 THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. 
 
 Egypt's interim president appointed a 50-member committee Sunday dominated by secularists to review proposed amendments to the country's Islamist-drafted constitution, moving ahead with a military-backed transition plan as protests over the coup that ousted the country's president wane. 
 
 The committee is to begin discussions Sept. 8 on the changes proposed by a 10-member panel of judges, also appointed by interim President Adly Mansour. It is then expected to put the amended charter to a public vote within 60 days, presidential spokesman Ihab Badawi said. 
 
 That follows a military-backed transition plan that calls for parliamentary and presidential elections early next year in the wake of the July 3 popularly backed coup that toppled President Mohammed Morsi. 
 
 The new review committee is dominated by liberal and secular public figures and politicians. Five women sit on the committee. There are four representatives from the youth groups that led the protests against Morsi and his predecessor, longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. There are also only three church representatives on the committee and no private citizens who are Christians. 
 
 There are three representatives of Al-Azhar, the Sunni world's most prestigious learning institute that represents moderate Islam. There are also representatives from professional unions, universities and the arts. 
 
 Badawi said Morsi' group, the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, and five other Islamist parties were tapped to nominate candidates. Only one, Bassam el-Zarka of the leading ultraconservative al-Nour party, came forward. 
 
 The Salafi al-Nour party said the selection criteria for the judges and their discussion to amend articles was less transparent than the actions of committee under Morsi, which were carried live on television. Al-Nour said it would argue in the committee to restore articles that stress the Islamic nature of the state, and outlaw insulting religious figures and violating social mores, which would be removed in an amendment proposed by the judges. 
 
 Badawi said a former member of the Brotherhood, Kamal el-Helbawi, also has agreed to sit on the committee and "will take into consideration the interests" of the group. 
 
 It is not yet clear how the committee will vote on the amendments, an issue which could complicate and prolong discussions. The amendments suggested by the judges removed controversial articles from the constitution, which were hotly contested by Morsi's opposition. Some articles gave Muslim clerics a final say over legislation, and one gave room for stricter interpretation and implementation of Islamic laws. 
 
 The Islamist-drafted constitution was one of the most divisive issues during Morsi's one year in office. It was suspended after the military ousted Morsi on July 3 following massive protests demanding he step down. 
 
 Lawmakers elected the Islamist-dominated 100-member committee that drafted the constitution under Morsi. It included 60 people affiliated with Islamist groups, six women and six Christians. That selection raised criticism of poor representation from youth groups and the secular opposition. 
 
 Liberals twice walked out of committees drafting the constitution, complaining that the Brotherhood and its allies dominated the process and stifled their suggestions. They said the charter undermined freedoms and rights and sought to imbue a strict interpretation of Islam into Egypt's laws. 
 
 Protests over the constitution and the direction of the country turned deadly after Morsi issued temporary decrees in late November that put himself and the drafting committee above judicial oversight. The constitution was then finalized in a rushed overnight session and passed with a slight majority in a hastily called referendum in December 2012.
– The most powerful man in Egypt has thrown his military fatigues aside to run for president. Field Marshal Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of elected President Mohamed Morsi last summer, announced on TV late yesterday that he was stepping down as military chief to answer "the demand of a wide range of Egyptians who have called on me to run for this honorable office," reports the BBC, which notes that his popularity and lack of serious rivals makes him very likely to win elections expected this summer. Morsi's year in office was the only time since 1952 that Egypt has had a leader not from a military background. Supporters say al-Sisi is the only one who can end the country's turmoil, but opponents fear he will lead the country back to authoritarianism. "His running will not achieve stability in Egypt. It's true he has many supporters who love him or even worship him. But on the other hand, there are those who hate Gen. al-Sisi and hold him responsible for the blood that has been shed," a senior member of a Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition tells the AP. The announcement came days after 529 Morsi supporters were sentenced to death and 683 more were put on trial.