30/07/2013 10:19
Worry mounts in Egypt as protesters dig in heels
Tensions are running high in Egypt nearly a month after the July 3 ouster of Mohamed Morsy, the country's first democratically elected president, CNN reported.
Protesters demanding Morsy's return to power are camped out in an east Cairo neighborhood, saying they won't leave until Morsy is restored to power.
Meanwhile, those whose protests led to Morsy's ouster -- secularists and liberals -- find themselves aligned, at least in part, with the military-backed government.
Protests in Cairo and elsewhere have turned violent, with dozens killed Saturday in Cairo in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. And more violence is possible amid government warnings to pro-Morsy demonstrators to end their protests.
The country isn't spiraling out of control, Interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi said Monday in an interview to be aired on CNN's "Amanpour."
"The situation is tense of course," he said. "No one can dispute that we have a very difficult situation."
But the government is merely trying to restore order after a month of chaotic demonstrations, he said.
However, a Muslim Brotherhood coalition that opposes Morsy's ouster said those behind his removal are "threatening national security by dragging the Egyptian army into a conflict with the majority of Egyptians, and by involving the army in attacks on peaceful demonstrators, causing a breach between the people and their army."