Egypt Gears Up for Mass Demonstrations

On the one-year anniversary of Mohammed Morsi’s rise to power after decades of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak, rival camps in Egypt braced for violence. The anti-Morsi protestors began flooding Tahrir Square and say they will not leave until Morsi resigns. They also say they have 22 million signatures – nearly half the voting population — on a petition calling for Morsi to resign. Several people have already been killed in the past few days of street fighting, including an American Jewish student who came to teach English in Alexandria. US President Barack Obama called on Egyptians to focus on dialogue instead of protests. The US-funded army in Egypt has warned that it might step in to stop protests if needed.