The Egyptian Interior Ministry called on supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammad Mursi on Thursday to end their sit-in, guaranteeing them a “safe exit.”
The ministry “calls on those in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda squares to let reason and the national interest prevail, and to quickly leave,” it said in a statement, a day after the government called for ending the demonstrations.
The ministry “pledges a safe exit and full protection to whoever responds to this appeal.”
In an earlier statement, the ministry said that the Egyptian authorities met to address how they can move in against the protest camps, amid mounting international calls for restraint.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and EU Middle East envoy Bernardino Leon were both in Cairo on Thursday to help ease tensions between Egypt’s new army-installed government and the deposed president’s backers.
Video of Egyptian police stops arms from reaching Muslim Brothers in Rabea protest