President consulted army over changes: general

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian president's decision to order Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to retire from his posts of defense minister and head of the armed forces was taken in consultation with him and the army council, a general said.

"The decision was based on consultation with the field marshal and the rest of the military council," General Mohamed el-Assar told Reuters. In a reshuffle of the top brass announced on Sunday, Assar was appointed deputy defense minister.

President Mohamed Mursi said Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Enan had been ordered to retire and would become advisers to the president.

(Reporting by Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Jon Hemming)