Egypt’s powerful Army Chief on Wednesday appealed to people to hold nationwide rallies on Friday and give him a mandate to crush “terrorism and violence” by the supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, enraging the Islamists to announce anti-coup protests on the same day.
“I urge the people to take to the streets this coming Friday to prove their will and give me, the Army and police, a mandate to confront possible violence and terrorism,” Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said. “Nevertheless this does not mean I am advocating for violence or terrorism,” El-Sisi, who is also the Defence Minister, said in a speech at a military graduation ceremony in Alexandria broadcast live on state television.
He rejected rumours about divisions within the Army ranks. “I swear by God that the Egyptian army is united,” he said. The Muslim Brotherhood condemned El-Sisi’s call for nationwide rallies as a ‘threat’ that would not intimidate them from continuing their protests. The marches will be held in all provinces under the slogan ‘the people want to bring down the coup’, the Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Islamists publicised the starting points for the marches on Friday hours after El-Sisi called for mass protests to justify a crackdown on “terrorism and violence.” They accused El-Sisi of betraying and conspiring against the Islamist leader, calling the army’s move to remove him from power on July 3 a “military coup.”
“I did not deceive the former President,” El-Sisi said, denying accusations of his betrayal. “We advised the former President several times since the November Constitutional declaration,” he said, adding that his advice was ignored by Morsi.