Opposition protesters battled supporters of President Mohamed Morsy
outside Cairo's presidential palace Wednesday night, leaving two dead
and scores wounded in the latest demonstrations against Morsy's
assumption of powers.Three of Morsy's advisers
resigned Wednesday in protest of his November edict, while
demonstrators set fire to offices of the Muslim Brotherhood and its
political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, in three cities.
The unrest comes as Egypt
-- a key player in this region -- lurches toward a scheduled December
15 referendum on a new constitution. Days of largely peaceful protests
in Tahrir Square had preceded Wednesday's eruption of violence outside
the presidential palace.
After Morsy supporters
chased protesters from the grounds, pro- and anti-Morsy
demonstrators
threw rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at each other.
In addition to the two
dead, 211 people were hurt, Egypt's Ministry of Health reported. Dr.
Mohamed Sultan, a spokesman for the ministry, said the injuries ranged
from bruises to cuts, burns and fractures.
"We hold opposition
figures, namely Sabbahi & ElBaradei, fully responsible for
escalation of violence & inciting their supporters," said the Muslim
Brotherhood in a tweet, referring to opposition leaders Hamdeen Sabbahi
and Mohamed ElBaradei.
Morsy, Egypt's first
freely elected leader, was a Muslim Brotherhood leader before winning
office in June, when he resigned from the movement and the Freedom and
Justice Party to represent all Egyptians, he said. Demonstrators were
protesting his recent edict granting himself sweeping powers and the
proposed constitution -- drafted by an Islamist-dominated council --
that they fear will give him even more power.
"This is not what we asked for," one protester said. "It's a complete dictatorship."
Other protesters vowed to
remain in the streets until Morsy is forced to leave office. "He's not
our president anymore," another protester said.
The three advisers who
announced their resignations said they had done so after failing to
persuade Morsy to reverse his November 23 decree.
"He has rejected all our
suggestions and initiatives that may have avoided the cycle of violence
we are witnessing today," Ayman al-Sayad, Seif Abdel Fattah, and
Mohammed Esmat said in a joint statement.
But the powerful Muslim Brotherhood called the protesters "thugs" who were trying to overthrow the president.
"By the grace of God,
the Egyptian people will be able to protect this legitimacy, its
constitution and its institutions," the group said on its Facebook page.
Ahmed Sobea, a spokesman
of the Freedom and Justice Party, told CNN that the party's offices in
the northeastern cities of Suez and Ismailia had been ransacked and
torched by masked, armed men on Wednesday night. The offices were empty
when the attacks occurred, Sobea said.
State-run Nile TV
broadcast pictures of the Ismaila office on fire and reported that other
masked men had burned the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in the
northeastern city of Zagazig.
Opposition leaders are
prepared to open talks with Morsy if he withdraws his edict and delays
the referendum, said ElBaradei, leader of the liberal Constitution
Party. But Vice President Mahmoud Mekki said the referendum will be held
as planned.
"Saying the referendum
will be held on time is not being stubborn," Mekki said. "The president
has backtracked from decisions before; he's not a stubborn character."
Morsy's decree placed
his decisions out of the reach of courts until a new constitution is
approved. He said the move was designed to protect the spirit of the
popular 2011 uprising that drove former strongman Hosni Mubarak from
power.
Critics call it a power grab.
Egyptian judges and
media outlets as well as liberal political groups have protested Morsy's
decree and the proposed constitution, saying it goes against the goals
of the revolution.
How the struggle plays
out could have repercussions across the Middle East and North Africa,
regions already wracked by upheaval. In nearby Gaza and Israel, tensions
remain high after last month's fighting. In Syria, a civil war has
raged since March 2011.
Wednesday's fatal
violence followed clashes Tuesday outside the palace, which has become
the focus of protests by Egypt's liberal opposition.
On Tuesday night, police
fired tear gas after anti-Morsy protesters broke through barbed wire
around the palace and hurled chairs and rocks at retreating officers.
After the initial clashes, police withdrew behind fences and the
demonstration was peaceful for several hours.
Yassir Ali, a spokesman
for the presidential office and the vice president, told reporters
Wednesday that the presidential office had ordered the security forces
at the palace "to protect the protesters and keep them safe."
"The orders to the
security forces were not to confront (them), (but) to preserve the lives
of the protesters and to prevent any clashes between the security
forces and the protesters," Ali said.
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