Clashes in Cairo as religious group tries to broker talks

Supporters and opponents of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi battled in downtown Cairo's streets yesterday, hurling rocks at each other as police fired volleys of tear gas.

The violence erupted as a proposal by al-Azhar, Egypt's leading religious authority, to bring together adversaries in the political crisis appeared to inch forward.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood said it was ready take part in talks as long as they were on the right terms. But the clashes showed the country was still dangerously divided six weeks after the army overthrew Mursi.

Brotherhood protest camps at Cairo's al-Nahda Square and around Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque are the immediate focus of the crisis. Mursi supporters stood their ground behind barricades yesterday while Egypt's interim leaders debated how to end their sit-in.

No police crackdown appeared imminent despite frequent warnings from the army-installed government that the protesters should pack up and leave peacefully. But clashes broke out in central Cairo when a few thousand Mursi supporters marched to the Interior Ministry.