Egypt Again Urges Pro-Morsi Supporters to Disperse
A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi wears a mask and chants slogans against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, at Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, July 31, 2013.
Egypt's Interior Ministry has urged supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi to leave their Cairo protest camps, offering "a safe exit" to protesters
In a statement read on state television Thursday, the ministry called "on those in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares to let reason and the national interest prevail, and to quickly leave." The call came one day after the army-backed government ordered the ministry to take action against protesters.
The ministry said police commanders met to study how to move in against the protest camps, amid mounting international calls for restraint. There is no specified date for clearing out the sit-in.
On Tuesday, the military-backed interim government declared the two Cairo vigils "unacceptable threats" to national security. Authorities directed police to stay within the law when they end the sit-ins.
Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement said the military may be setting up the demonstrators for what it fears could be another massacre. Security forces shot at demonstrators in Cairo Saturday, killing at least 80 people.
Protesters are occupying squares outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in eastern Cairo and the city's main university campus.
Nearly 200 people have been killed since the Egyptian military toppled Morsi from power on July 3. His supporters are demanding his return to the presidency and the restoration of the Islamist-drafted constitution.
The country's interim government plans to hold a referendum within five months to ratify amendments to the constitution. Parliamentary elections would take place early next year followed by a new presidential election.
The Latest Images from Egypt
1/18People perform Ramadan night prayers in Cairo, celebrating Lailat al-Qadr (the Night of Power), August 4, 2013.
2/18A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi prays outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo, August 4, 2013.
3/18The area around the Rabaa Adiweya mosque has been packed with Muslim Brotherhood supporters sleeping in tents for over a month. Families bring children to protect them from the police forcibly dismantling the sit-in. (H. Elrasam for VOA)
4/18A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi prays outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo, August 4, 2013.
5/18Children have been participating in protests in Egypt since the became widespread and near-constant in 2011. (H. Elrasam for VOA)
6/18A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi gets relief from the afternoon heat with the help of water sprayers in front of a poster of Morsi, Cairo University,Giza, Egypt.
7/18A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi cries while saluting the Egyptian flag at Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.
8/18An Egyptian woman feeds her ducks in front of a barrier recently set up by supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi in their camp in Giza, southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Aug. 1, 2013.
9/18An Egyptian child attends prayers with his father at a protest near Cairo University in Giza, Egypt, August 1, 2013.
10/18Egyptian children wear head bands with Arabic writing: "No god but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet." They attend a protest outside Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, Cairo, Egypt.
11/18Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi pray at Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where Morsi supporters have installed a camp and hold daily rallies at Nasr City, Cairo, July 31, 2013.
12/18An anti-government protester takes a morning bath with others at a public pump during the Revolution March in Islamabad, Pakistan.
13/18"Third Square" actvists gather at Sphinx Square in Cairo, July 30, 2013.
14/18Supporters of Mohamed Morsi during a march from Al-Fath Mosque to the defense ministry in Cairo, July 30, 2013.
15/18Flares illuminate the gathering of several hundred activists the "Third Square" in Cairo. (Hamada Elrasam for VOA)
16/18A young girl at the Third Square rally in Cairo. (Hamada Elrasam for VOA)
17/18A young girl at the Third Square rally in Cairo. (Hamada Elrasam for VOA)
18/18A young girl at the Third Square rally in Cairo. (Hamada Elrasam for VOA)
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