US orders diplomats to leave Egypt—US official

Opponents of Egypt’s Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi celebrate outside the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. A US official said the State Department was ordering nonessential US diplomats and the families of all American Embassy personnel to leave Egypt after the Egyptian military removed Morsi and in anticipation of potential violence. AP PHOTO/HASSAN AMMAR

WASHINGTON— A US official says the State Department is ordering nonessential US diplomats and the families of all American Embassy personnel to leave Egypt after the Egyptian military removed Morsi and in anticipation of potential violence.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to discuss it publicly, said the State Department had placed the US Embassy in Cairo on “ordered departure” status for nonemergency staff and dependents of all employees. That means that those covered by the order are required to leave the country.

It was not immediately clear if an evacuation operation would be mounted or if those departing would use commercial airlines or passenger ships to leave.