Army tightens its grip after Cairo battles

Fears were growing in Egypt today of a return to military rule as president Mohammed Morsi deployed troops to maintain security in the capital Cairo, after street battles left six dead and hundreds wounded.

As soldiers were given police-like powers to arrest civilians, opponents of Mr Morsi claimed a draft constitution due to be voted on this Saturday is an attempt by his Muslim Brotherhood party to force its hardline agenda into practice.

The military was being put in place to protect state institutions after offices of the Muslim Brotherhood were ransacked and torched in Cairo.

The army brought in tanks and built a wall of concrete blocks to seal off the presidential palace — the focus of demonstrations. In an attempt to calm the mainly secular opposition, Mr Morsi annulled a decree that gave him sweeping new powers over the judiciary.

But he is pressing ahead with the referendum on a new constitution. The National Salvation Front, an umbrella organisation of opposition bodies, said in a statement: “The front calls for demonstrations in the capital and in the regions as a rejection of the president’s decision that goes against our legitimate demands.

“We do not recognise the draft constitution because it does not represent the Egyptian people.” It added that the referendum “will certainly lead to more division and sedition”.

Islamist groups say they will hold counter demonstrations, raising fears of further bloody clashes in the capital. The opposition accuses gangs organised by the Brotherhood and other Islamists of attacking its protesters and have called on Mr Morsi to disband them and open an investigation.

Mr Morsi’s decrees last month brought hundreds of thousands of protesters on to the streets — the most since the popular uprising last year that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

In another apparent concession, Mr Morsi yesterday suspended a big tax increase on the sale of goods including soft drinks, cigarettes and beer.