Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi forcibly retired some of the country's top military chiefs on Sunday, taking steps to reclaim some of the power taken from him when the country's military council dissolved parliament and stripped some of the President's executive powers.

According to statements from Morsi's office, Field Marshal Mohamad Hussein Tantawi has been "ordered into retirement," and the constitutional motion that stripped the President of most of his authority, before he was officially elected, is being cancelled. The President's office said Chief of Staff Sami Annan is also retiring. The two outgoing officers were appointed advisers to the President. 

The level of cooperation between Morsi and the military council is unclear. Reuters reports a member of the military council told them Tantawi and Annan were both consulted by the President's office about their retirement, but whether Morsi discussed cancelling the constitutional motion is unclear. This is a big step towards the President's office regaining control of the country, if it goes off without a hitch. 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at connorbsimpson at gmail dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.