Egypt factions seek dialogue to end crisis

Rival factions yesterday condemned the violence which has killed dozens in a week of unrest and pledged support for a national dialogue to resolve the political crisis gripping Egypt.
"We come out of these talks with some sort of optimism," despite "the difficult challenges ahead," former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, a leader of the opposition National Salvation Front (NSF), told reporters.
Top Islamic scholar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb chaired talks between liberal opposition heads, Islamists, youth groups, independents and church members at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning.
They signed an Al-Azhar document vowing to support "a serious dialogue" and "condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence", and stressing "the responsibility of the state and its security apparatus to protect citizens."
Even with few concrete points agreed, the talks marked a coup for Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi whose calls for dialogue were snubbed by the opposition only last week.
But it remained to be seen whether the Al-Azhar document would carry weight on the streets, where clashes between protesters and police have killed dozens since rallies marking the second anniversary of Egypt's uprising last week.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities scaled back a curfew imposed by President Mohamed Morsi a state of emergency on three Suez Canal cities on Sunday - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez.
Local authorities pushed back the start of the curfew from 9:00pm. to 2:00am in Ismailia and to 1:00am in Port Said and Suez.