Egyptian interim Vice President, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei announces resignation

CAIRO - Agence France-Presse

Egypt's interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei had met twice with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Cairo following the July 3 coup. REUTERS photo

Egyptian Vice President, Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, announced his resignation in a letter to the interim president on Aug. 14 seen by AFP.

The resignation comes after scores were killed in a crackdown by security forces on loyalists of deposed elected President Mohamed Morsi.

"It has become too difficult to continue bearing responsibility for decisions I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear," ElBaradei said.

He said his conscience was troubled over the loss of life "particularly as I believe it could have been avoided".

"Unfortunately those who gain from what happened today are those who call for violence and terror, the extremist groups," he said.