Egypt’s new leadership wrangled over the naming of a Prime Minister, as both the Muslim Brotherhood and their opponents called for new mass rallies on Sunday, renewing fears of another round of street violence over the military’s ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The calls for competing rallies come after clashes two days ago between the rival camps left at least 36 dead and more than 1,000 injured nationwide.
The military said troops are beefing up security ahead of the protests and warned against any “provocative actions.” Any violators will be “dealt with decisively, under the law,” the army spokesman said in an official Facebook posting. In Friday’s violence it sided with the anti-Morsi crowds and in one case, opened fire on pro-Morsi demonstrators.
The Brotherhood, which helped propel Morsi to power as Egypt’s first democratically elected leader, has denounced the military’s move as a coup against democracy and demands he be reinstated. Currently, Morsi is in detention with the military, though his location is unknown.
In a Facebook posting on Sunday, the Brotherhood’s supreme leader Mohammed Badie said the “leaders of the unconstitutional coup continue flagrant violations against the Egyptian people.”