(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130127-egypt-hmed-11a.photoblog600.jpg)Asmaa Waguih / ReutersProtesters against Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi run from tear gas fired by riot police during clashes near Tahrir Square in Cairo on Sunday.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) By ReutersCAIRO - Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said Sunday that he was imposing a state of emergency for 30 days in three cities along the Suez Canal that have been the scene of the worst violence that flared at the weekend, killing more than 45 people.
Morsi made the announcement in a televised address in which he said a curfew would also be introduced in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez starting Monday from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time. He also called for dialogue with top politicians. Four people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Egypt's Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 protesters killed at the weekend, part of a wave of violence. A total of 46 people have been killed in demonstrations around the country since Thursday and his opponents have called for more protests on Monday.
"Down, down Morsi, down down the regime that killed and tortured us!" people in Port Said chanted as the coffins of those killed on Saturday were carried through the streets.
Port Said's head of hospitals, Abdel Rahman Farag, told Reuters an 18-year-old man and three other people died from gunshot wounds on Sunday. More than 429 people suffered from tear gas inhalation, while 38 were wounded by gunshots, he said.
Gunshots had killed many of the 33 who died on Saturday when residents went on the rampage after a court sentenced 21 people, mostly from the Mediterranean port, to death for their role in deadly soccer violence at a stadium there last year.
A military source said many people in Port Said, which lies next to the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula, possess guns. But it was not clear who was behind the deaths and injuries.
Tear gas fired at protesters
In Cairo, police fired tear gas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in a fourth day of clashes over what demonstrators there and in other cities say is a power grab by Islamists two years after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.
The protesters accuse Morsi, elected in June with the support of his Muslim Brotherhood group, of betraying the democratic goals of the revolution. Most of the deaths since Thursday were in Port Said and Suez, both cities where the army has now been deployed.
The violence adds to the daunting task facing Morsi as he tries to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary election expected in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.
It has exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Morsi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt's first freely elected leader by undemocratic means.
Although Sunday's violence was less severe than the previous two days, Morsi may have little respite. The opposition Popular Current and other groups have called for more protests on Monday to mark what was one of the bloodiest days of the 2011 uprising.
The Popular Current, led by leftist Hamdeen Sabahy, said it "denounces the state of silence of the presidency and the government during the sad events that the country went through the past 48 hours".
On a bridge close to Tahrir Square, youths hurled stones at police in riot gear who fired teargas to push them back towards the square, the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.
"None of the revolution's goals have been realized," said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday.
"Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests."
Clashes also erupted in other streets near the square. The U.S. and British embassies, both close to Tahrir, said they were closed for public business on Sunday, normally a working day.
The army, Egypt's interim ruler until Morsi's election, was sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, which both lie on the Suez canal. In Suez, at least eight people were killed in clashes with police.
Egypt's defense minister who also heads the army, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, called for the nation to stand together and said the military would not prevent peaceful protests. But he called on demonstrators to protect public property.
Many ordinary Egyptians are frustrated by the regular escalations that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.
"They are not revolutionaries protesting," said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30, referring to those gathered in Tahrir. "They are thugs destroying the country."
Call for dialogue
The National Defense Council, headed by Morsi, called on Saturday for national dialogue to discuss political differences.
That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition National Salvation Front. But the coalition has demanded a clear agenda and guarantees that any agreements will be implemented.
The Front, formed late last year when Morsi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and call for more protests if its demands are not met, including for an early presidential vote.
Egypt's transition has been blighted from the outset by political rows and turbulence on the streets that have driven investors out and kept many tourists away. Its currency, the pound, has steadily weakened against the dollar.
Related: At least 30 killed in clashes over Egypt soccer disaster (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/26/16705250-at-least-30-die-in-clashes-over-egypt-soccer-disaster-verdict?lite) Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions (http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/media/brand_guidelines/legal_notice/).
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