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CAIRO — Supporters and opponents of the government of President
Mohamed Morsi staged competing demonstrations on Friday after noon
prayers, throwing Egypt deeper into political crisis.
Thousands of pro-government Islamists attended the funeral of two
men killed in clashes on Wednesday outside the presidential palace, the
site of continuing demonstrations by the opposition. “With blood and soul,
we redeem Islam,” they chanted, while calling opposition leaders
“murderers,” The Associated Press reported.
Simultaneously, thousands of opposition protesters streamed in
separate marches toward the presidential palace, gathering there to shout
“Leave!, Leave,” even though Mr. Morsi does not make his residence in
the building. Speakers accused the Muslim Brotherhood, which Mr. Morsi
once helped lead, of sparking the violence by sending “hired thugs” to
destroy a tent camp set up by the president’s opponents, the news agency
reported.
Rival protests were reported throughout the country, including in
Alexandria in the Nile delta, the tourist center of Luxor and Assiut, in the
south, where marchers chanted “No Brotherhood, no Salafis, Egypt is a
civic state,” the A.P. said.
News reports quoted several leaders of the opposition coalition as
saying they would not join the dialogue proposed by Mr. Morsi in a speech
on Thursday in which he blamed the outbreak of violence on a “fifth
column.” He also vowed to proceed with a referendum on an Islamistbacked
constitution that has prompted deadly street battles between his
supporters and their opponents.
Mr. Morsi spoke a day after the growing antagonism between his
supporters and the secular opposition triggered the worst outbreak of
violence between political factions here since Gamal Abdel Nasser’s coup
six decades ago. By the time the fighting ended, six people were dead and
hundreds were wounded.
The violence also led to resignations that rocked the government, as
advisers, party members and the head of the commission overseeing the
planned vote on a new constitution stepped down, citing the bloodshed.