Egyptian PM Hisham Kandil. Photo: Wikipedia.

Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil is stepping down from his post following deadly riots in the country, Israel’s Ma’ariv reported Tuesday, citing Egyptian media.

According to the report, Qandil announced his resignation following an emergency meeting convened by government officials to address the latest protests in the country that have left at least 16 people dead.

Since the start of the protests over the weekend, 6 government ministers, including the country’s foreign minister, have stepped down.

On Monday the Egyptian Army chief-of-staff General Abdel Fateh al-Sisi gave President Mohamed Morsi forty-eight hours to find a resolution to the country’s political crisis before the army would step in. On Tuesday Morsi rebuffed the ultimatum.

UPDATE: According to a subsequent update published by Ma’ariv, Egyptian officials denied the report saying that Qandil met today with President Morsi and the head of Egypt’s military to discuss the ultimatum delivered by the military council yesterday.