CAIRO (AA) – Supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi began mass rallies on Friday afternoon to denounce what they describe as a "military coup" against Egypt's elected leader.
Pro-Morsi demonstrators set out from the Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Giza's Mohandiseen district.
Carrying posters bearing Morsi's image, marchers chanted slogans against the "military coup" and demanded the elected president's reinstatement.
Morsi loyalists also staged marches from Mohandiseen's Maghfereh Mosque while repeating chants against military rule.
"Yes to legitimacy; no to the coup," read one banner carried by protesters.
The two marches eventually merged before moving on to Nahda Square, where thousands of Morsi supporters have camped out for nearly four weeks.
Pro-Morsi demonstrators also marched down Giza's Haram Street to denounce calls by army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi for Egyptians to stage counter-protests on Friday to authorize him to "confront violence and terrorism."
Protesters also marched from the Rahman Mosque in Nasr City in eastern Cairo towards Rab'a al-Adaweya Square, the site of an almost month-long pro-Morsi sit-in.
The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a coalition made up largely of Islamist groups and the Muslim Brotherhood, has called for mass rallies on Friday.
Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army on July 3 after mass demonstrations against his regime.
On Wednesday, al-Sisi, who is also defense minister, urged Egyptians to take to the streets for mass Friday protests to "authorize" him to "confront violence."
"I'm asking the Egyptian people to go out like they did on June 30 and July 3," he said in a televised address. "I want you to show the world that you are authorizing me to confront any possible violence and terrorism."
The call has prompted fears that al-Sisi was seeking a popular mandate for the violent dispersal of pro-Morsi demonstrations and sit-ins.
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