l****z 发帖数: 29846 | 1 The Egyptian army has set up barricades outside the presidential palace,
after ordering protesters to leave the area.
It follows violent overnight clashes between supporters and opponents of
President Mohammed Morsi that left five people dead and 644 injured.
Most protesters left the palace by the 15:00 (13:00 GMT) deadline, though
some opposition activists remained.
Meanwhile, Egypt's top Islamic body has called on the president to suspend
his decree claiming sweeping powers.
The Al-Azhar institution also demanded an unconditional dialogue between the
president and his opponents.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says this move by one of the most respected
bodies in Sunni Islam has put President Morsi - who was largely brought to
power by the powerful Islamist Muslim Brotherhood - under more pressure.
Continue reading the main story
At the scene
Khaled Ezzelarab BBC News, Cairo
Hundreds of President Mohammed Morsi's supporters spent last night in front
of the presidential palace in Cairo.
At around 13:30 local time (11:30 GMT) their mobile phones started to ring
almost all at once.
Orders came through from the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood - to which
Mr Morsi belongs - to clear the area for the Presidential Guard, a branch
of the military whose official responsibility is to protect the president
and presidential buildings.
It took only 15 minutes for the crowd to clear the huge area around the
palace, a testament to the extremely organised nature of the Islamic
movement.
As they left they seemed to be content with the way things have gone. True,
it was a bloody night, which saw them clash for hours with the president's
opponents. Many of them were injured and a few killed in the process, but at
the end they felt they had won this battle.
Mr Morsi is expected to address the nation on Thursday evening, although his
statement appears to have been delayed.
The president adopted new powers in the decree on 22 November, and stripped
the judiciary of any power to challenge his decisions.
Mr Morsi, who narrowly won Egypt's first free presidential election in June,
says he will give up his new powers once a new constitution is ratified.
But there is also controversy over the proposed constitution. Critics say
the draft was rushed through parliament without proper consultation and does
not do enough to protect political and religious freedoms and the rights of
women.
The government insists that a referendum on the draft constitution, drawn up
by a body dominated by Morsi-supporting Islamists, will go ahead this month
despite strong opposition.
Four of Mr Morsi's advisers resigned on Wednesday - three others did so last
week and the official Mena news agency reported a further resignation on
Thursday.
The UN's human rights chief, Navi Pillay has urged respect for the right to
peaceful protest.
"The current government came to power on the back of similar protests and so
should be particularly sensitive to the need to protect protesters' rights
to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," Reuters quoted her as
saying.
Continue reading the main story
Egypt's mounting crisis
Nov 22 President Morsi issues decree assuming sweeping new powers, dismisses
prosecutor general
Nov 23 Protests against president's new powers begin, including a sit-in at
Tahrir Square
Nov 30 Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts controversial draft
constitution
Dec 1 Islamists rally in support of president's new powers after tens of
thousands of Morsi opponents converge on Tahrir Square
Dec 2 Supreme Constitutional Court suspends work after being prevented by
Morsi supporters from ruling on the legitimacy of the constituent assembly
Dec 2 Judges Club, representing judges across the country, announces it will
not supervise referendum on draft constitution
Dec 5 Violent clashes outside presidential palace in Cairo
Army reassurance
Tanks and armoured troop carriers were deployed outside the presidential
palace on Thursday morning following the overnight clashes between the pro-
Morsi Muslim Brotherhood supporters and his mainly secular opponents.
The Brotherhood said all those who died were its supporters, but this has
not been independently confirmed.
Following a meeting between the president and military commanders, the 13:00
GMT deadline to clear the area round the palace was set. A ban on all
protests in the area has also been ordered.
Concrete blocks and barbed wire barricades have been erected.
But the commander of the Republican Guard, Maj Gen Mohammed Zaki, said the
security forces "will not be a tool to crush protesters", telling Mena: "No
force will be used against Egyptians."
The Muslim Brotherhood supporters left the square before the deadline, but a
few dozen opposition supporters remained in place and their numbers
increased as evening fell.
The scene was calm, however, and there was no sign of any attempt to breach
the military's barriers.
The opposition has said it will continue to hold demonstrations.
"We had many injuries last night, and we are not going to have their blood
wasted," said an unnamed member of the National Salvation Front, a recently
formed group which has united some of the most prominent anti-Morsi figures.
If the president is to defuse this crisis he will surely have to call off
the referendum on a new constitution and give up the new powers, says our
correspondent.
This would be a huge climb down, but otherwise this country could just be
headed into more crisis and conflict, he adds. |
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