Egyptian women and children shout slogans during a sit-in by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi outside the Rabaa Al Adawiya mosque, on the first day of Eid Al Fitr, in Cairo yesterday.
CAIRO: Supporters of Egypt’s deposed Islamist president rallied in their thousands in Cairo yesterday to celebrate the Eid Al Fitr holiday and demand his restoration as the military held back from breaking up their protests.
The rarely-seen wife of the ousted Mohammed Mursi, Naglaa Mahmoud, made a surprise appearance on stage at the main demonstration in Cairo to appeal for her husband to be allowed back into power as crowds roared “Return! Return!”
But crowds also filled Tahrir Square in a show of support for the military and the interim government it installed after overthrowing Mursi five weeks ago.
The political crisis has reached a dangerous new phase following the collapse this week of an international effort to bridge the gap between the two sides and avert bloodshed.
But the four-day Eid holiday at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan started in a festive and largely peaceful atmosphere. By late afternoon, no violence had been reported.
Sheikh Gomaa Mohamed Ali led prayers at Tahrir Square and spoke out against further bloodshed. He called on Mursi supporters to abandon their protest camps at the Rabaa Al Adawiya Mosque and Cairo’s Nasr City.
Interim President Adly Mansour had on Wednesday warned the protesters to leave the camps or face action, saying government patience was running out. He also declared that the mediation effort by US, European and Arab envoys had failed.
However, a person involved in the diplomatic push said the authorities and Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood might yet step back from confrontation and implement mutual confidence-building steps that could lead to a negotiated settlement.
Government and military sources said the talks had not terminated but had been frozen, to assuage public anger over perceived foreign interference in Egypt’s affairs and the authorities’ willingness to negotiate with the Brotherhood.
A military source said the authorities were holding back from using force to clear the protest camps partly due to fear that Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, a source of political legitimacy for army rule, would quit.
REUTERS
