Morsi says won’t quit as 23 killed in Egypt clashes

Morsi says won’t quit as 23 killed in Egypt clashes

PanARMENIAN.Net - His fate hanging in the balance, Egypt's embattled president vowed he would not resign, hours before a deadline to yield to the demands of millions of protesters or see the military install a new leadership, Belfast Telegraph said.

Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi demanded that the powerful armed forces withdraw their ultimatum, saying he rejected all "dictates" - from home or abroad.

On the streets, the sense that both sides are ready to fight to the end sharpened, with clashes between his supporters and opponents that left at least 23 dead, most of them in a single incident of fighting outside Cairo University.

In an emotional speech shown live to the nation, Morsi, who a year ago was inaugurated as Egypt's first freely elected president, pledged to protect his "constitutional legitimacy" with his life. He accused loyalists of his ousted autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak of exploiting the wave of protests to topple his regime and thwart democracy.

"There is no substitute for legitimacy," said Morsi, who at times angrily raised his voice, thrust his fist in the air and pounded the podium. He warned that electoral and constitutional legitimacy "is the only guarantee against violence".

Morsi's defiant statement showed that he and his Muslim Brotherhood were prepared to run the risk of challenging the army. It also entrenches the lines of confrontation between his Islamist supporters and Egyptians angry over what they see as his efforts to impose control by the Brotherhood and his failures to deal with the country's multiple problems.

The crisis has become a struggle over whether a popular uprising can overturn the verdict of the ballot box. Morsi's opponents say he has lost his legitimacy through mistakes and power grabs and that their turnout on the streets over the past three days shows the nation has turned against him.

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