CAIRO, December 5 (RIA Novosti) - Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi left the presidential palace in Cairo late on Tuesday after it was surrounded by thousands of protestors, the national TV said citing security sources.
“Morsi left the al-Ittihadiya palace and headed home,” a security source said, adding that the decision was made “to calm down the protestors.”
Police briefly clashed with protestors who tried to break through barbed wire cordons around the palace and used tear gas grenades and sound bombs earlier on Tuesday, al-Ahram said. Al-Arabiya said ten people were injured in the clashes.
Later in the day police forces were ordered to withdraw from the outside perimeter and go inside the palace.
Currently, protestors continue their rally outside the presidential palace against Morsi’s constitutional declaration, vesting the president with extrajudicial powers. They also protest against his decision to hold a nationwide referendum on the country’s new constitution on December 15, which they describe as a hasty move.