Egypt set for protests, Mursi stands ground

[Punch]

Egypt faces a showdown in the streets after President Mohamed Mursi failed, in an address to the nation, to satisfy the demands of opponents who want the Islamist to step down after a year in office.

Reuters reports that days of brawling between Mursi's supporters and their rivals have already left several dead and scores injured. Both camps now planning mass rallies, raise the risk of bigger clashes that the army warns could prompt it to take command again.

On Friday, Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood and their allies will gather in Cairo, as will some opposition groups. On Sunday, the opposition hopes millions will heed their call, a year to the day since Mursi became Egypt's first freely elected leader.

"I am more determined than ever to go out on June 30 to demand the removal of an absolutely irresponsible president," Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for a coalition of liberal parties, said on Thursday after Mursi's marathon late-night address.

The army, which helped protesters topple Hosni Mubarak in 2011, says it will act if politicians cannot reach consensus. The United States, which continues to fund the military as it did under Mubarak, has urged Egypt's leaders to pull together.

The Punch