From Arab Spring to Summer Revolution: Egypt on edge

A fatal blast during aprotest against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in the SuezCanal city of Port Said was caused by a home-made hand grenade,security sources said Saturday.

After the blast late on Friday, which killed one man, tracesof an explosive substance were found on the bodies of some ofthe 15 wounded. Ballistics tests were still under way.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters had gathered in acentral square in the city, at the Mediterranean end of thecanal, one of several small demonstrations around the countryahead of mass rallies on Sunday aimed at unseating Morsi.

The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority said on Saturdaythat canal authorities were coordinating with the armed forcesand security and intelligence agencies to secure the key global waterway.

Traffic of ships and cargo through the canal remained normal, he said.
Cities around Suez have already been flashpoints forviolence this year, causing minor stoppages through the canal.

An American was among three people killed in Egypt on Friday as clashes erupted during rival demonstrations for and against Islamist President Mohamed Morsi a year after his election.

The US citizen, a 21-year-old who reportedly worked for an American cultural centre in the coastal city of Alexandria, was killed as he took photographs of a demonstration, officials said.

"We can confirm that a US citizen was killed in Alexandria, Egypt," US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in a statement.

Another man was killed earlier during the clashes in Alexandria.

In the canal city of Port Said, an Egyptian journalist was killed and several others injured after someone threw a small explosive device at anti-Morsi protesters, a security official and witnesses said.

Clashes also erupted in the Nile Delta provinces of Daqahliya and Beheira, and across the country over 130 people were wounded, security officials said.

The offices of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, were torched in Alexandria and at Aga in Daqahliya, and its offices were stormed in Beheira.

The skirmishes are seen as a prelude to mass anti-Morsi protests planned for Sunday, the anniversary of his turbulent maiden year in office as Egypt's first democratically elected president.

Morsi, 62, has been accused by opponents of failing the 2011 revolution that brought him to power and of ignoring nearly half of the electorate of around 50 million who did not vote for him last year.

Sunday's protest has been called by Tamarod (Arabic for Rebellion), a grassroots movement which says it has more than 15 million signatures for a petition demanding Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

Friday's pro-Morsi demonstrations were seen as a preemptive strike by the regime ahead of the opposition rallies.

No coup

In Cairo, tens of thousands of Islamists gathered under the slogan "legitimacy is a red line," referring to Morsi's insistence that he has a popular mandate.

"We will not allow a coup against the president," senior Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagui told the crowd.

Anti-Morsi protesters joined hundreds camped overnight in Tahrir Square, epicentre of the 2011 revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak and catapulted the Islamist to the presidency.

Opponents also gathered in Alexandria, Mansura and Port Said.

"It's not about sacking Morsi himself," one Tahrir protester told AFP.

"If any other does the same he will be sacked as well. Our demands are clear: bread, freedom, social justice and human dignity."

The unrest during Friday's rival rallies raised fears of wider and bloodier violence on Sunday's first anniversary of the Islamist leader's inauguration.

World calls for calm

"We urge all parties to refrain from violence and express their views peacefully," US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

"And political leaders have the responsibility of taking steps to ensure that groups do not resort to violence."

In "our opinion, all Egyptians have the right to express their opinions and concerns freely. We've urged the government to protect that right."

Later Friday, the State Department updated its travel warning, saying non-emergency diplomatic staff could leave Egypt and warning US citizens to postpone non-essential travel to the country.

Germany warned that Egypt's fledgling democracy faced a "moment of truth", and urged Morsi to implement reforms.

At least four people have also died since Wednesday in clashes in the Nile Delta -- three in Mansura city and one in Zagazig, medics said.

Egypt is deeply split between Morsi's Islamist allies and an opposition of leftists, liberals, Christians and some Muslim groups.

Polarising Egypt

Morsi warned in a televised speech Wednesday that the growing polarisation threatened to "paralyse" Egypt, pledging to consider constitutional reforms and appealed to the opposition to join talks.

On Thursday however, the opposition National Salvation Front coalition rejected his offer of talks and renewed its call for a snap presidential election.

The broad-based opposition accuses him of having hijacked the revolution.

They say he has reneged on his promise to be a president for all Egyptians and failed to deliver on the uprising's aspirations for freedom and social justice.

Since taking office last June 30, Morsi has squared off against the judiciary, police and artists.

But he has also admitted to failings.

"I have made many mistakes, there is no question. Mistakes can happen, but they need to be corrected," he said.

Amnesty International called on the authorities to ensure the security forces showed restraint and protected peaceful demonstrators from violence over the weekend.

"They should make clear that anyone responsible for arbitrary and abusive force will be brought to justice," Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's Middle East deputy director said in a statement Friday.

The army, which oversaw the transition from Mubarak's autocratic rule but has been on the sidelines since Morsi's election, has warned it would intervene in the event of violence.

US travel warning

The United States updated its travel warning to Egypt late Friday and said non-emergency diplomatic staff could leave the country, after an American was among two people killed in protests.

"The Department of State authorized the departure of a limited number of non-emergency employees and family members," it said in the updated warning.

It cautioned US citizens "to defer non-essential travel to Egypt at this time due to the continuing possibility of political and social unrest."

"US citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and to be vigilant regarding their personal security."

The warning came after an American was among two people killed in Egypt's second city of Alexandria as clashes erupted Friday during rival demonstrations for and against Islamist President Mohamed Morsi a year after his election.

The US citizen, a 21-year-old who reportedly worked for an American cultural center in the northern port city, was killed as he took photographs of a demonstration, officials said.

"We have heard of reports of the death of a US citizen. We are seeking to confirm," an official at the US embassy in Cairo told AFP.

The travel warning made no mention of Friday's reported death, but highlighted that a private US citizen was stabbed outside the embassy in Cairo on May 9 after being asked if he was American.

The State Department warned that "political unrest ... is likely to continue in the near future due to unrest focused on the first anniversary of the president's assumption of office."

"Demonstrations have, on occasion, degenerated into violent clashes between police and protesters, resulting in deaths, injuries and extensive property damage," it added.

"Participants have thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails and security forces have used tear gas and other crowd control measures against demonstrators. There are numerous reports of the use of firearms as well."

The notice stressed, however, that the US embassy, which is very close to Cairo's Tahrir Square, remained open and noted that the tourist areas including Luxor, Aswan and Red Sea resorts like Sharm el-Sheikh remained calm.

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