Opposition leaders hold Morsi responsible; clashes, wounded
(5 Dec 2012) ++NIGHT EXTERIOR SHOTS++ 1. Wide of opponents and supporters of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi clashing 2. Various of injured protesters being carried away from clashes 3. Mid of protester showing the victory sign, one of his hands is covered in blood 4. Wide of protesters, man can be seen pushing a white police cabin 5. Wide of barbed wire being pulled along the road 6. Various of riot police ++INTERIOR SHOTS++ 7. Wide of National Salvation Front news conference 8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace laureate and member of the National Salvation Front: "We're going to continue protesting in every possible way, including a general strike, until we regain our rights and our freedom, and we correct the course of the revolution. The regime, in my opinion and the opinion of many of us here, is losing its legitimacy day after day." 9. Close of journalist writing 10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Amr Moussa, Former Arab League Chief and member of the National Salvation Front: "We are ready for a serious dialogue on the specific basis that he first cancel the constitutional declaration and then seriously deal with the role of the people and their right to discuss and influence the constitution." 11. Wide of news conference 12. Mid of members of the National Salvation front leaving Supporters and opponents of Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi fought with rocks, firebombs and sticks outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Wednesday, as a new round of protests deepened the country's political crisis. Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition advocate of reform and democracy, said Morsi's rule was "losing its legitimacy day after day." "We're going to continue protesting in every possible way, including a general strike, until we regain our rights and our freedom, and we correct the course of the revolution," the Nobel Peace Laureate told a news conference after he accused the president's supporters of attacking peaceful demonstrators. The opposition is demanding Morsi rescind decrees giving him near unrestricted powers and shelve a disputed draft constitution that the president's Islamist allies passed hurriedly last week. The duelling demonstrations and violence are part of a political crisis that has left the country divided into two camps: Islamists versus an opposition made up of youth groups, liberal parties and large sectors of the public. Both sides have dug in their heels, signalling a protracted standoff. The latest clashes began when thousands of Islamist supporters of Morsi descended on the area around the palace where some 300 of his opponents were staging a sit-in. The Islamists, members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group, chased the protesters away from their base outside the palace's main gate and tore down their tents. The protesters scattered in side streets where they chanted anti-Morsi slogans. After a lull in fighting, hundreds of young Morsi opponents arrived at the scene and immediately began throwing firebombs at the resident's backers, who responded with rocks. No casualties were immediately reported but several protesters could be seen with blood streaming down their faces and hands. Some men were injured so badly they were seen being carried away by fellow protesters. It was the latest of a series of mass protests against the president. At least 100-thousand opposition supporters rallied outside the palace on Tuesday and smaller protests were staged by the opposition elsewhere in Cairo and across much of Egypt. Brotherhood leaders have been calling on the opposition to enter a dialogue with the Islamist leader. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
