Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is expected to either resign
or be forced out of office by the military today, claim the country's media.
Violence between anti-Morsi protesters and opposition groups
escalated last night with trouble in the capital Cairo leaving at least 23 people
killed and 200 injured. Most of those killed in overnight violence reportedly
died in a single incident of fighting outside Cairo University
The clashes came hours after the country's military leaders
laid down a deadline for President Morsi to find a resolution to Egypt's
political crisis or else the army would suspend the constitution, disband
parliament and install a new leadership should a resolution not be reached.
But Morsi's defiant statement showed that he and his Muslim
Brotherhood are prepared to run the risk of challenging the army.
'There is no substitute for legitimacy,' said Morsi, who at
times angrily raised his voice, thrust his fist in the air and pounded the
podium.
He warned that electoral and constitutional legitimacy 'is
the only guarantee against violence.'
It also entrenches the lines of confrontation between his
Islamist supporters and Egyptians angry over what they see as his efforts to
impose control by his Muslim Brotherhood and his failures to deal with the
country's multiple problems.
The crisis has become a struggle over whether a popular
uprising can overturn the verdict of the ballot box.
Pictures of the violent protest after the jump
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