Coup leader 'stirring a civil war'

General Abdulfatah al-Sisi's words are seen as a ploy to get public backing for a move against Morsi's supporters. Photo / AP

The leader of Egypt's military coup was accused of stirring up a civil war after calling for a mass demonstration to counter the unrest provoked by the deposing of President Mohammed Morsi.

General Abdulfatah al-Sisi, who removed Morsi from power in a coup backed by the President's secular and liberal opponents, urged Egyptians to turn out tonight NZT to give him a "mandate" to quell violence at recent anti-government protests.

"On Friday, every honourable and honest Egyptian must come out," he said during a speech at a graduation ceremony for military cadets in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria. "Please, shoulder your responsibility with me, your army and the police, and show your size and steadfastness in the face of what is going on."

More than 100 people have been killed in the three weeks since Morsi was toppled, as supporters of the former President have clashed with supporters of the coup and the security forces.

Islamist militants have also stepped up attacks on troops in Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula, with two soldiers killed in an ambush yesterday and a car bomb near a police training centre.

While Sisi did not specifically name any political faction, his words were seen as an attempt to seek public backing for a decisive move against supporters of Morsi, who have promised to stage street protests until he is returned to power. The former President is in detention with a number of other leading figures in his Muslim Brotherhood movement.

A statement from the Brotherhood said that Sisi's comments were "an announcement of civil war". Dr Wael Haddara, a senior Morsi aide who is visiting London this week, described the demonstration as a "mob action" that was likely to encourage the very kind of state-sponsored violence it purported to wish to avoid. "The expectation is that the protesters will be painted as terrorists, with all stops then pulled out to get rid of them, on the pretext of ridding the country of terrorism."

Haddara was due to speak at a meeting in the House of Lords, where he would outline the Brotherhood's concern at the West's ambiguous attitude to Morsi's overthrow. The Brotherhood says that Britain and the US were far too muted in their condemnation of the coup, which they point out removed a democratically elected government.

They argue that had the army removed a secular government at Islamists' behest, rather than the other way around, the criticism in the West would have been far greater.