Morsi backers plan fresh rallies, defy Egypt's police

CAIRO: Backers of Egypt's deposed president Mohamed Morsi readied defiant rallies on Friday, as police prepared to disperse their Cairo protest camps amid international appeals to avoid further bloodshed.

The fresh rallies calling for Morsi's reinstatement were set to begin as US Secretary of State John Kerry said millions had requested the military's removal of Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president.

Kerry's comments are the closest Washington has come to publicly embracing the July 3 coup that toppled Morsi, as European diplomats held talks in Cairo with the interim government and Morsi's backers seeking a way out of the impasse.

Morsi's turbulent year in power was marked by deep political and social divisions, deadly clashes and a crippling economic crisis, prompting millions to take to the streets to demand his resignation.

A spokesman for Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood denounced Kerry's comments, accusing Washington of being "complicit" in the coup.

"Is it the job of the army to restore democracy?" asked Gehad El Haddad in a statement.

Morsi backers rejected an earlier interior ministry offer of a "safe exit" if they quickly left their Cairo protest camps, as police discussed how to implement orders from the military-installed interim government to end the protests.

In a statement, the ministry called on those in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares "to let reason and the national interest prevail, and to quickly leave".

The ministry pledged "a safe exit and full protection to whomever responds to this appeal".

The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, quoting police sources, reported Friday that police have prepared a plan to end the sit-ins, but had not decided when, as the cabinet was still hoping for a peaceful resolution.

The stand-off raised fears of new violence less than a week after 82 people were killed in clashes at a pro-Morsi rally in the capital.

More than 250 people have been killed since the president's ouster following nationwide protests against his single year in power. (AFP)