“The U.S. has called on Egypt’s army to free deposed President Mohammed Morsi, amid ongoing protests on the first Friday of Ramadan, the BBC reports.
The appeal echoed a similar call hours earlier from Germany.
“The Islamist Mr. Morsi, who was ousted last week after the army stepped in, has since been held at a ‘safe,’ but unspecified location.
“Dozens of people have since died in clashes during major demonstrations by pro- and anti-Morsi protesters.
“Mr. Morsi’s supporters gathered in the east of the capital, Cairo, on Friday – the first Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan – demanding his reinstatement.” – BBC
Islamists Stage Huge Demonstrations
The New York Times reported:
“Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian Islamists and other supporters of Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president who was ousted and detained by the military last week, filled public squares in Cairo and other cities on Friday in an intensified campaign aimed at returning him to power.
“The protests underlined both the size of the opposition to the military’s intervention on July 3 and the hardening split over the country’s direction. Mr. Morsi’s supporters blocked major thoroughfares in parts of Cairo, snarling traffic and raising the prospect of further escalation, while Tahrir Square remained the domain of the anti-Morsi side.”
Egyptian Parliamentarians Demand Morsi’s Return
According to ABC News:
“Islamist lawmakers in Egypt’s disbanded upper houses of parliament are demanding the return of the country’s ousted president, and calling on other parliaments not to recognize the country’s new army-appointed leadership.
“The demand was made Saturday by around 20 members of the Shura Council, which was Egypt’s sole legislative house from the court-ordered dissolution of the lower house last year until the military’s July 3 toppling of Morsi.
“The lawmakers, who were attending a mostly Islamist sit-in in the east of Cairo, accused the military of attempting to restore a ‘corrupt and dictatorial’ regime.”