Morsi Supporters Defy Police Warnings To Disperse
The military-backed government offered protection Thursday to supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi who end their two sit-ins _ widely seen as a first step toward dispersing the vigils on opposite sides of Cairo.
But the protesters responded defiantly: "Over our dead bodies!"
The standoff underscored the ongoing political crisis since the armed forces toppled Egypt's first democratically elected leader on July 3: thousands in the streets demanding Morsi's reinstatement, a government unable to exert its authority, and recurrent violence that has killed more than 260 people.
Rights groups, activists and politicians from rival camps, fearful of more bloodshed, tried to ward off any use of force, including a suggestion of putting a human chain around the protest sites.
International pressure grew for the interim government to release Morsi and create a process that includes his Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political faction, which refuses to deal with the new authorities.
MORE...
http://www.newser.com/article/da7td1ho1/ousted-presidents-supporters-snub-offer-of-protection-if-they-end-their-protests.html