Johannesburg, July 10 (IANS): The South African government Tuesday decried the ouster of Mohamed Morsi as Egypt's president, calling it a breach of relevant international laws and agreements.

Following widescale protests in the country Morsi was ousted by Egypt's armed forces last week, a year after becoming the country's first freely elected president, Xinhua reported.

"The South African government views this as a serious breach of the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act and other relevant instruments, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; the Algiers Decision; and the Lom¨¦ Declaration," said Ebrahim Ebrahim, deputy minister of International Relations and Cooperation in Pretoria.

Egbrahim said his government has observed with deep concern the suspension of a democratically-elected president in violation of the Egyptian Constitution.

"The South African government considers this event as a major setback for the advancement and consolidation of democracy in Africa," he said, adding that South Africa welcomes and endorses AU's recent decision to "suspend the participation of Egypt in the AU's activities until the restoration of constitutional order".

The South African government "is deeply perturbed about the potential negative impact of this event on peace, stability and security in Egypt and the region," he said.