Cairo - Hundreds
of protesters woke up on Wednesday in front of the presidential palace, the new
focus of protests against President Mohamed Morsi, as an already-polarised
Egypt slipped deeper into crisis.
"The final
warning, the presidency under siege," read the headline of daily al-Shuruk
as the independent Al-Watan declared "Revolution at the president's
doorstep".
On Tuesday, tens
of the thousands marched on the upscale neighbourhood of Heliopolis,
culminating in a dramatic siege of the palace, in scenes not witnessed even
during demonstrations that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.
Hundreds more
Morsi opponents spent the night in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square under dozens of
tents erected almost two weeks ago.
Activists used
social networking sites to appeal for blankets and food for the protesters who
said they won't leave until Morsi rescinds a decree expanding his powers.
Tuesday's protests
were the latest in a string of actions opposed to Morsi's 22 November decree,
which expanded his powers and enabled him to call a mid-December referendum on
a draft constitution drawn up by an Islamist-dominated panel and rejected by
liberals, leftists and Christians.
"Why did he
do all this? He's supposed to be a president for all Egyptians, not just for
the Muslim Brotherhood," said a protester said at the presidential palace.
The draft
constitution has become the focal point of a political and ideological battle
between Islamists and the largely secular-leaning opposition.
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