egypt protests

REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

CAIRO (AP) — Protesters seeking to force Egypt's president from office were gearing up Monday for a second day of demonstrations, a day after millions poured into the streets of Cairo and cities around the country in a massive display of anger and frustration with the Islamist leader.

At least 10 people were killed during Sunday's protests, five of them in provinces south of the capital Cairo. Activists said five more were killed outside the national headquarters of President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, where supporters of the Islamist leader barricaded inside opened fire on protesters pelting the suburban villa with rocks and firebombs. A fire broke out in the heavily fortified building.

Some protesters spent the night in dozens of tents pitched in the capital's central Tahrir Square and the Ittihadiya presidential palace. They have vowed to stay there until Morsi resigns.

The anti-Morsi demonstrators are calling for widespread labor strikes to start Monday in an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on the president, but it was not immediately clear how unions would respond to the call. Organizers are also calling for sit-ins at the Cabinet building, interim parliament, and another presidential place where Morsi has been working since late last week.



During the day Sunday, thousands of Islamists massed not far from the presidential palace in support of Morsi, some of them prepared for a fight with makeshift armor, sticks and shields.

The anti-Morsi protesters aimed to show by sheer numbers that the country has irrevocably turned against him, a year to the day after he was inaugurated as Egypt's first freely elected president. But throughout the day and even up to midnight at the main rallying sites, fears of rampant violence did not materialize.




The massive outpouring against Morsi raises the question of what comes next. Protesters have vowed to stay on the streets until he steps down. The president, in turn, appears to be hoping protests wane.



