Egypt lifts 3-month-old state of emergency (VIDEO)
Egyptian supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted president Mohamed Morsi shout slogans in his support on November 4, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt.
Egypt's government announced the end of its 3-month-old state of emergency on Tuesday in a step that might help restore a sense of normalcy missing since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi.
The state of emergency was lifted two days earlier than planned, taking the government by surprise.
Only a day earlier, Interior Minister Mahmoud Ibrahim had said the measure wouldn't be lifted until Thursday. Government forces had planned to deploy security reinforcements in the streets at that time to defuse worries about intensified protests, the Associated Press reported.
The government said in a statement it was committed to implementing the court ruling and was awaiting a copy of the decision to execute it.
Ending the state of emergency would mean an end to nightly curfews.
It would also put an end to the wide powers of arrest given to security forces.
The curfews were put into place on Aug. 14 after security forces forcibly broke up two Cairo sit-ins by Morsi supporters, sparking the worst bout of domestic bloodshed in Egypt's modern history.
They had been set to last only a month, but were extended for two more months in September.
The ruling comes amid reports of fresh clashes between Morsi supporters and security forces at two universities north of Cairo in the Nile Delta cities of Zagazig and Mansoura.