The Washington Post reports: Egypt’s top prosecutor has ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader and nine other top Islamist officials for allegedly instigating violence that led to the killing of more than 50 demonstrators Monday.

The arrest warrants issued Wednesday for Brotherhood supreme guide Mohammed Badie and the others came a day after interim President Adly Mansour appointed a prime minister and vice president, moves designed to lend an air of normalcy to the country even as indications mounted that the president is little more than a civilian face for military rule. Mansour also has outlined a path to quick elections and a return to democracy after the July 3 coup that overthrew Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

Mansour’s plan was quickly condemned by Morsi’s supporters in the Brotherhood. It elicited a lukewarm response, at best, from key players in the loose alliance of politicians and activists who had lobbied for Morsi’s ouster.

The National Salvation Front, an umbrella group representing Morsi’s political opponents, said Wednesday that it did not agree with all of the road map’s plans — but stopped short of outright rejection.

The Tamarod, or “rebel,” group, also central to the anti-Morsi movement, said it had not been consulted on the plan but was proposing changes for Mansour to consider. The decree provides for few independent checks on the president’s power until a constitutional referendum and elections, which it calls for within six months. [Continue reading…]