: Egypt’s military tells president and his ruling government that it has 48 hours to address people’s demands or it will step in to restore order.

Following an ultimatum by opposition groups that President Mohammed Morsi should step aside by 5 pm Tuesday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) released an ultimatum of its own in a statement on Monday.

A translation of the statement by the Guardian reads in part:

The office of Morsi’s presidency subsequently announced it will hold a televised press conference at 9 pm local time (3 pm EST).

Also on Monday, the 30 June Front—a coalition of pro-democracy forces bent against the Morsi government—released a statement furthering their hopes that people across Egypt would continue their demonstrations against the president with civil disobedience.

“We ask [Egyptians] in all governorates to stop going to work and demonstrate in all squares and in governorate headquarters,” read the statement.

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And Ahram Online adds:

Al Jazeera’s chief political analyst Marwan Bishara explained how the statement by the military will be viewed as undermining Morsi’s authority.

“For the army to give the president 48 hours warning, the army are saying who is the boss,” Bishara said. “Morsi is no longer the same president as this morning in the eyes of those on the streets.”

Saying the announcement puts “huge pressure” on the president, Bishara said that if Morsi does not respond appropriately, “we can expect army intervention”.

“That could be taking over the streets or taking over the government. This message is to the president. This undercuts his authority.”

Though Morsi’s secular opponents and the revolutionary forces still fighting for a truly democratic alternative for Egypt may welcome the pressure placed on the president, it is not clear that the military leaders and the members of the Tamarod movement are truly on the same side.

Mass demonstrations continued in Cairo and across Egypt for the second straight day on Monday as the movement that previously ousted the long-time authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak has set its sights on a ‘Second Revolution’ with a call for the sitting president, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, to step aside.

As multiple news agencies are reporting on Monday, the opposition Tamarod movement, which brought millions of Egyptians into the streets on Sunday, has given Morsi until 5pm on Tuesday to resign from office.