Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest in fron
Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest in fronAFP photo

The Egyptian army has blocked streets leading to the Republican Guard House in Cairo, to stop supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi from reaching the building, Al Arabiya reported Friday.

Egyptian television reported earlier that Morsi supporters were marching to the Republican Guard House. A military spokesman warned them against violence.

The Defense Ministry said it would coordinate with the army to confront violence by protesters, according to Al Arabiya.

The protests began after Friday prayers from 18 mosques across the capital, amid heightened political tensions more than two weeks after Morsi’s overthrow on July 3, AFP reported.

It “will be a famous day, a very important day in the history of the Egyptian revolution,” prominent Muslim Brotherhood member Farid Ismail told AFP.

In one of the deadliest incidents last week, 51 people died and 435 were injured in clashes between the Egyptian army and pro-Morsi protesters at the Republican Guard headquarters.

Following the deadly clashes, the Muslim Brotherhood called for an “uprising” in Egypt.

Egypt’s interim president, Adly Mansour, on Thursday vowed to protect the country from those who “want to drive Egypt to chaos,” in reference to continuous protests by Morsi supporters.

In his first speech to the nation, Mansour said Egypt is going through a decisive stage in its history where some want to drag the country into the “unknown” and cause chaos.

On Tuesday, the new Egyptian Cabinet was sworn in, as Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood rejected its legitimacy.

The cabinet lineup does not include any members from Islamist groups or parties, even from the Salafist Nour party, which supported the military roadmap for transition.

Interim prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi said last week he would offer the Muslim Brotherhood ministerial positions in the transitional government in Egypt, but the Islamist group refused. A spokesman for the movement said, “We don’t recognize its legitimacy or its authority.”

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)