Fresh Protests in Egypt

Egyptian protesters took to  the streets
again on Sunday, where, for weeks,
arguments have turned to clashes.
Rocks have flown, knives have flashed
and gunfire has cracked through the
air, leaving bodies on the ground.
More than 30 people have died and
1,400 have suffered injuries since
Wednesday's coup.
Supporters of the deposed president,
Mohamed Morsy, and the Muslim
Brotherhood will rally Sunday to
demand his reinstatement. Some of
them took a vow Saturday before a
cleric to die for their cause, if need be.
On the other side of the city,
opponents of morsy packed Tahror
Square, shooting off celebratory
fireworks.
There were no reports of any clashes
as darkness fell on Cairo, but some
appeared to be bracing for violence.
Egypt's military said in a statement that
it was stepping up security efforts for
the demonstrations.
"We also warn against any provocation
or clashes with the peaceful
demonstrators," the statement said.
"Anyone who violates these
instructions will be dealt with firmly in
accordance with the law."
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood's
political party vowed that protests
would be peaceful and accused
authorities of planning to send fake
bearded men into Cairo's Tahrir Square
to incite violence.
"This is so they can claim that the
supporters of the elected-president
and the Islamic groups are attacking
the peaceful demonstrators. … We
warn those who play with fire that any
sectarian incitement at this critical time
will not be in the interests of anyone
in our beloved Egypt," the Freedom
and Justice Party said in a statement
posted on its Facebook page.
Human Rights Watch called for the
country's military and political leaders
to do more to stop the bloodshed.
"All sides need to tell their followers to
refrain from actions likely to lead to
violence and loss of life," Joe Stork,
deputy Middle East and North Africa
director at Human Rights Watch, said in
a statement. "At the same time, the
security forces need to show that they
can act professionally and effectively to
stop the violence without resorting to
unlawful lethal force."
After Morsy was deposed, authorities
arrested him and are holding him at an
undisclosed location. His supporters
believe he is being held at the
Republican Guards complex and have
targeted it with their marches.
On Friday, five of them died there,
after security opened fire. On
Saturday, members of the Muslim
Brotherhood filed past the building
with the coffins of those killed on their
shoulders.
In the lawless desert of the Sinai,
where al Qaeda affiliates have long had
a foothold, violent attacks erupted
after Morsy's removal.
On Sunday, armed men blew up a
pipeline transporting natural gas to
Jordan, an ally of Israel and the United
States, said a senior Egyptian
intelligence officer, who asked not to
be named.
Such attacks had ceased when Morsy
was president. Before that, armed
groups destroyed pipelines every few
months, he said.
State-run EgyNews reported Sunday
that three police officers in northern
Sinai were shot and wounded while on
duty when someone in an unmarked
car fired shots at them and sped away.
It is unclear whether the attacks were
a reaction to events in Cairo.
Morsy's opponents — who got what
they wanted when the military toppled
him in a coup Wednesday — will
protest "to finalize the great victory"
they started on June 30, activist group
Tamarod said.
Egyptian police are finishing the work
the military started, taking into custody
the Brotherhood's leaders. Officers
continue to follow up on hundreds of
arrest warrants.
Tamarod was quick to nominate its
candidate, Mohamed ElBaradei, for the
office of prime minister, but a
swearing-in announced for Saturday
didn't happen.
Tamarod spokesman Mahmoud Badr
told Egypt's OTV on Sunday that the
presidency had tapped ElBaradei to
form the new government, but then
retracted the offer after objections
from the conservative al-Nour party.
ElBaradei is known around the world as
the former head of the U.N. atomic
watchdog agency, the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
He was to appear Sunday in an
interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria,
but canceled it along with all other
media interviews, his office said.