EGYPT: Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi say they fear a civil war if Mursi refuses to resign after military ultimatum

Record ID: 858279

  • Title: EGYPT: Opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi say they fear a civil war if Mursi refuses to resign after military ultimatum
  • Date: 3rd July 2013
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (JULY 3, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WOMEN PROTESTING IN TAHRIR SQUARE WOMEN HOLDING YELLOW BANNER READING (Arabic): "TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT MURSI" WOMEN PROTESTING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OPPONENT OF EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MOHAMED MURSI, KHALED KAMAL, SAYING: "I ask Mohamed Mursi to have mercy on the people, so that the situation doesn't turn into civil strife. I want him to be reasonable and resign just like Hosni Mubarak had done before him, and leave someone else to rule the country." VARIOUS OF PROTESTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OPPONENT OF EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MOHAMED MURSI, NAJAT MOHAMED, SAYING: "Anything is expected, we can't really predict what might happen. But it could turn into a civil war if they insist on staying in power, and if they resort to violence, this violence will be met with violence, so it could definitely be a civil war." WOMEN PROTESTING
  • Embargoed: 18th July 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • City:
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACGSDZ0D2FZIV9H2LBCZRIJC4
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  • Story Text: Anti-government protesters fear an outbreak of civil war should Islamist President Mohamed Mursi insist on remaining in power, as a military ultimatum looms.
    On Monday (July 1), army commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave Mursi 48 hours to reach an accommodation with his opponents. Otherwise, he said, the military would step in and implement its own roadmap for the country's future.
    But in a defiant midnight television address responding to military demands, Mursi vowed to stay in power and defend constitutional legitimacy.
    He also warned that any deviation from the democratic order approved in a series of votes last year would lead Egypt down a dangerous path.
    Liberal opponents said the speech showed he had "lost his mind"
    As they awaited the ultimatum deadline, thousands of protesters remained in Tahrir Square on Wednesday (July 3) to demand an end to the Muslim Brotherhood's rule.
    Protester Khaled Kamal said he hoped Mursi would resign.

    "I ask Mohamed Mursi to have mercy on the people, so that the situation doesn't turn into civil strife. I want him to be reasonable and resign just like Hosni Mubarak had done before him, and leave someone else to rule the country," he said.
    Protester Najat Mohamed expressed concerns over Mursi's insistence on staying in power saying that it could lead to civil war.

    "Anything is expected, we can't really predict what might happen. But it could turn into a civil war if they insist on staying in power, and if they resort to violence, this violence will be met with violence, so it could definitely be a civil war," she said.
    The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said Mursi was expected to either step down or be removed from office and that the army would set up a three-member presidential council to be chaired by the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court.
    A military source said he expected the army to first call political, social and economic figures and youth activists for talks on its draft roadmap for the country's future.
    A spokesman for Mohamed Mursi said the president believed it would be better to die "standing like a tree", defending the electoral legitimacy of his office, than to go down in history as having destroyed Egyptians' hopes for democracy.
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