Egypt braced for protests as Mursi stands ground

Egypt faces a showdown in the streets after President Mohamed Mursi failed, in an address to the nation, to satisfy the demands of opponents who want to force him from office.

Days of brawling between his Islamist supporters and their rivals have already left several dead and scores injured and the camps now plan mass rallies, raising the risk of bigger clashes that the army warns could prompt it to take command again.

On Friday, Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood and their allies will gather in Cairo, as will some opposition groups. On Sunday, the opposition hopes millions will heed the call, a year to the day since Mursi became Egypt's first freely elected leader.

"I am more determined than ever to go out on June 30 to demand the removal of an absolutely irresponsible president," Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for a coalition of liberal parties, said on Thursday after Mursi's marathon late-night address.

It is hard to gauge how many may turn out but much of the population, even those sympathetic to Islamic ideas, are deeply frustrated by economic slump and many blame the government.

The army, which helped protesters topple Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and is on alert across the country guarding key locations, says it will act if politicians cannot reach consensus. The United States, which continues to fund the military as it did under Mubarak, has urged Egypt's leaders to pull together.