| Protests Force Egyptian President Morsi to Flee Palace |
| Dec-04-2012 |
| Keywords: egypt, morsi, protests, barricades, palace, protest |
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fled the presidential palace Tuesday as violence erupted between police and at least 100,000 protesters in Cairo.
Police fired tear gas to stop protesters approaching the palace in the capital's Heliopolis district. Morsi was in the palace conducting business, but left for home through a back door when the crowds "grew bigger," according to numerous media reports.
Morsi reportedly left on the advice of security officials at the palace and to head off "possible dangers" and to calm protesters.
The violence erupted when protesters pushed aside a barbed wire topped barricade several hundred yards from the palace walls. Police fired tear gas, and then retreated. With the barricaded breached, protests closed in on the palace.
Police abandoned the rest of the barricades, allowing the crowds to surge ahead to the walls of the palace complex. But there were no attempts to storm the palace, guarded inside by the army's Republican Guard.
The brief outburst of violence left 18 people injured, none seriously, according to news reports.
Protesters gathered as tensions grew over Morsi's seizure of nearly unrestricted powers and a draft constitution hurriedly adopted by his allies, scheduled for ratification on December 15.
Crowds around the capital and in the coastal city of Alexandria were still swelling several hours after nightfall. The large turnout signaled sustained momentum for the opposition, which brought out at least 200,000 protesters to Cairo's Tahrir Square a week ago and a comparable number on Friday. They are demanding the Morsi rescind decrees that placed him above judicial oversight.
Read more about the Egyptian uprisings on FoxNews.com. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 9:00 PM Email to a friend |
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