Police, protesters clash in central Cairo

Egyptian police and protestersclashed in central Cairo early on Tuesday after fights broke outbetween supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi and locals angered when they tried to block major thoroughfarescrossing the River Nile.

The MENA state news agency said at least 22 people wereinjured in the violence, which began just after 9 pm (1900GMT) on Monday and lasted into the early hours of Tuesday.

The clashes were smaller and more localised than the earlierdeadly unrest since Mursi was deposed by the military on July 3, and most of Cairo was unaffected.

Still, after a week of relative calm, scenes of runningstreet battles close to the Egyptian Museum, one of thecountry's main tourist attractions, may raise further concernsabout stability in the Arab world's most populous country.

"I've had enough of this chaos," said Ashraf Mohamed, who    watched the clashes from a distance. "Egypt is just rubbish."

Young men, their mouths covered to protect them from teargas, threw stones at police and shouted pro-Mursi andanti-military slogans, as well as "Allahu Akbar!" (God isgreatest).

Military helicopters hovered overhead and police vans werebrought in to quell the trouble, but when that didn't work,dozens of riot police moved in. Medics treated men with deepgashes to their eyes and faces nearby.

Mohamed's frustration echoed the view of millions of Egyptians who rallied for Mursi's resignation on June 30. Themilitary said it deposed him to fulfil the wish of the people.Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement said it was a coup.

"It's the army against the people, these are our soldiers,we have no weapons," said Alaa el-Din, a 34-year-old computerengineer, clutching a laptop.

"The army is killing our brothers, you are meant to defendme and you are attacking me. The army turned against theEgyptian people."

Egypt has become increasingly polarised by the crisis, butone thing the two sides share is a deep mistrust of the UnitedStates and its perceived role in the unrest.

Burns Spurned

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns told reportersin Cairo that Washington had no desire to meddle in Egypt, whichit supports with $1.5 billion in aid each year, most of whichgoes to the military.

"Only Egyptians can determine their future," Burns toldreporters at the US embassy. "I did not come with Americansolutions. Nor did I come to lecture anyone. We will not try toimpose our model on Egypt."

Washington, never comfortable with the rise of the IslamistBrotherhood, has so far refused to say whether it views Mursi'sremoval as a coup, which would require it to halt aid.

The Islamist Nour Party and the Tamarud anti-Mursi protestmovement both said they turned down invitations to meet Burns.

But a senior State Department official denied Burns had beenshunned. "I don't think we're losing influence at all," the US official said, adding that Burns was still in Cairo.

"I don't know what meetings he has, but he has seen a rangeof people in Cairo in the interim government, in civil society... so it's hard to say he has been spurned by both sides. Idon't accept that is the case."

Marches in Cairo and Beyond

Tens of thousands of Brotherhood supporters gathered late onMonday at the Rabaa Adawiya mosque in northeastern Cairo, wherethey have staged a sit-in vigil for the last three weeks vowingto stay until Mursi is reinstated.

Another large crowd rallied outside Cairo University, andthere were protests in the coastal city of Alexandria and theNile city of Assiut. There also were minor clashes in Giza, homeof the pyramids, just outside Cairo.

The army warned demonstrators that it would respond with"the utmost severity and firmness and force" if they approachedmilitary bases or "vital state institutes."

At least 92 people were killed in the days after Mursi wastoppled, more than half of them shot by troops outside theRepublican Guard compound near the Rabaa mosque on July 8.Protests since then had been tense but peaceful until Mondaynight.

The political turmoil and unrest in major cities has alsofuelled violence in Egypt's lawless North Sinai provincebordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Attacks in the area have killed 13 people, mainly police,since July 3. In the latest, suspected Islamist militants firedgrenades at a bus carrying workers from a factory in the Sinaicity of El Arish on Monday, killing three and wounding 17.

US calls for restaraint

Mursi is being held incommunicado at an undisclosedlocation. He has not been charged with a crime but theauthorities say they are investigating him over complaints ofinciting violence, spying and wrecking the economy. Scores ofMursi supporters were rounded up after violence last week.

Many of the top Brotherhood figures have been charged withinciting violence, but have not been arrested and are still atlarge. The public prosecutors' office announced new chargesagainst seven Brotherhood and Islamist leaders on Monday.

Burns had earlier called for restraint on both sides.

"If representatives of some of the largest parties in Egypt are detained or excluded, how are dialogue and participationpossible?" he asked. He also urged those opposed to Mursi'souster to participate in the political process peacefully.

Interim President Adli Mansour and his prime minister Hazemel-Beblawi head a transitional cabinet full of technocrats thatis paving the way for parliamentary elections in around sixmonths, in a bid to restore civilian rule.

US-educated economist Ahmed Galal, as finance minister,has the task of rescuing an economy and state finances wreckedby two and a half years of turmoil.

That task became easier, at least in the short term, afterSaudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait - rich GulfArab states happy at the downfall of the Brotherhood - promiseda total of $12 billion in cash, loans and fuel.

The new planning minister, Ashraf al-Arabi, said the Arabmoney would be enough to sustain Egypt through its transitionperiod and it did not need to restart talks with theInternational Monetary Fund.

Egypt had sought $4.8 billion in IMF aid last year, butmonths of talks ran aground with the government unable to agreeon cuts in unaffordable subsidies for food and fuel. Arabi'scomments could worry investors who want the IMF to prod reform.

"I think it's inappropriate to be making such a strongstatement, given how new he is to the position," said AngusBlair, president of the Signet Institute, an economic thinktank.

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