ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey says the overthrow of Egypt's Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi by the military is "unacceptable" and is calling for his release from house arrest.
Egyptian armed forces ousted Morsi on Wednesday after one year in office. The military installed a temporary civilian government, suspended the constitution and called for new elections.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday democratically elected leaders should only be ousted through elections and said Morsi was deposed through illegal means.
Earlier, Turkey's all-party parliamentary human rights commission also denounced Morsi's ouster while small protests were held in Ankara and Istanbul.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government had formed an alliance with the Islamist leader.
Erdogan has curtailed the powers of Turkey's own military which has carried out three coups since the 1960s.
07/04/13 08:00 AM ET EDT