Egypt warned of 'civil war' as rivals readies for face-off

Egypt's leading religious authority yesterday warned of "civil war" and called for calm as political factions clashed ahead of major rallies the opposition hopes can force the Islamist president to quit.
A member of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was shot dead overnight. Dozens of people were wounded in Alexandria, many by shotgun pellets, when opposition marchers clashed with Islamists on Friday, two days before President Mohamed Morsi's critics hopes millions take to the streets to demand new elections.
"Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war," clerics of the Al-Azhar institute said. In a statement broadly supportive of Morsi, it blamed "criminal gangs" who besieged mosques for street violence which the Brotherhood said has killed five of its supporters in a week.
The movement's political wing warned of "dire consequences that will pull the country into a violent spiral of anarchy". It held liberal leaders, including former top UN diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, personally responsible for inciting violence by hired "thugs".
Opposition leaders also condemned the violence.
In Alexandria, at least 36 people were wounded, a Health Ministry source said, many by birdshot when hundreds scuffled outside a local office of the Muslim Brotherhood.
There was no immediate sign of trouble as thousands of Islamists gathered round a Cairo mosque after weekly prayers to show support for Morsi. His opponents hope millions will turn out on Sunday to demand new elections, a year to the day since he was sworn in as Egypt's first freely chosen leader.
The army, which heeded mass protests in early 2011 to push aside Mubarak, has warned it will intervene again if there is violence and to defend the "will of the people". Both sides believe that means the military may support their positions.