CAIRO, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s opponents on Friday evening broke through wire barriers outside Morsi’s palace in the capital Cairo as some people tried to climb the gate after security guards withdrew forces, regional media reported.
Clashes between protesters and security forces led to injuries among the Republican Army, which stated its neutrality and said it was responsible for protecting state institutions, Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya reported on Friday.
Thousands had taken to the streets in front of the palace in Cairo after Morsi’s proposal for dialog was rejected.
Egypt’s National Salvation Front, a coalition of the country’s largest liberal-democratic parties and movements, officially rejected talks proposed by Morsi, Al Arabiya reported earlier on Friday. Two other opposition groups said they would also boycott the talks, the BBC reported, citing state media. Morsi's supporters earlier held a march of their own in Cairo, the British broadcaster also said.
Morsi addressed Egyptians on Thursday urging a national dialog between all political forces, but the opposition said the president had not offered enough concessions.
Morsi's November 22 constitutional declaration expanded his executive authority by barring the courts from challenging his decisions. Egypt's highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council, earlier called Morsi’s move “an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and its rulings.”
Opposition groups have been rallying against the constitutional declaration and Morsi's decision to hold a nationwide referendum on the new Constitution on December 15, which they described as too hasty.
Earlier this week, violent clashes between Morsi’s supporters and opponents left five people dead and hundreds injured.
Meanwhile, Egyptian media on Friday cited Vice-President Mahmoud Mekky as saying Morsi could delay the referendum on a draft constitution on certain terms.
