Tanks deployed in Cairo after deadly clashes

Egyptian riot police stand behind barbwire as thousands of demonstrators march to the presidential palace to protest against the new constitution and President Mohamed Morsi's decrees. (AFP)


Morsi is expected to deliver a televised address to the nation after five people were killed overnight in the worst violence since his June election, pitting Islamists against an opposition that has escalated protests since he assumed extensive powers on November 22.



Republican Guard chief General Mohammed Zaki said the tanks were deployed to separate warring protesters, and pledged that the military "will not be an instrument of oppression against protesters".


A senior presidential aide told AFP Morsi was expected to make a speech later in the day to reach out to the opposition. No time was announced for the address.

Bloody protests over draft constitution
The stage was set for Wednesday's violence when Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement announced a march to the palace, where opposition protesters were staging a sit-in a day after tens of thousands surrounded the sprawling complex.

Protesters fired guns and threw firebombs and rocks at each other on Wednesday as their simmering stand-off over Morsi's expanded powers and a draft constitution turned violent.



The opposition says it will not stand down until Morsi discards his new powers, which allow him to take decisions uncontested by the courts, and cancels a snap December 15 referendum on a new constitution opposed by liberals and Christians.



'Civil war'

"It's a civil war that will burn all of us," said Ahmed Fahmy (27), as clashes raged behind him.

"They [Islamists] attacked us, broke up our tents, and I was beaten up," said Eman Ahmed (47).
"They accused us of being traitors."


Wael Ali, a 40-year-old Morsi supporter, said: "I'm here to defend democracy. The president was elected by the ballot box."

The United States called for an open and "democratic dialogue" in Egypt.


Despite the protests, Vice-President Mahmud Mekki said a referendum on the charter "will go ahead on time" on December 15.





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