Mohamed ElBaradei, the The Nobel laureate and former head of the United Nations' nuclear regulatory agency, has resigned his post as Egypt's interim vice president amid a violent crackdown on protesters.
The announcement comes amid a Egyptian Army crackdown that has left at least 149 people dead, including two international journalists, and more than 1,400 injured.
In his resignation letter that "there were peaceful options for ending the political crisis," according to Reuters.
The last two words? "Violence brings violence."
ElBaradei, an opposition figure during the 2011 uprising who subsequently ran for president, is seen as the voice of reason in a government established by the military in the aftermath of a coup that deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.
Mohamed El-Beltagi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, said his 17-year-old daughter had been killed in the clashes that occurred as the military aimed to take control of major pro-Morsi sit-ins.
The entire country is in violent turmoil as bodies were strewn all over Cairo today.
Earlier the army announced a state of emergency across the country, meaning that most cities will face a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for at least a month.
If you are keeping score: ElBaradei is gone. A point for the old order. #Egypt
— Steven A. Cook (@stevenacook) August 14, 2013
Jon Williams of BBC notes that the country was "governed" under emergency law from 1967 to 2012, except for an 18-month break in 1980/81.