U.S. on alert as street rage rises in Egypt

WASHINGTON - The United States is working to ensure its embassy and diplomats in Egypt are safe, President Barack Obama said Saturday after one American was killed and opposition groups vowed millions would march on Cairo in an effort to oust Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.

The U.S. government was warning Americans to steer clear of Egypt if possible as violence continued unabated. The State Department confirmed a 21-year-old college student - Andrew Pochter of Chevy Chase, Md. - died Friday while photographing battles between supporters and foes of the Islamist president.

Obama said the U.S. was in direct contact with the Egyptian government about security arrangements and was preparing for larger protests over the weekend.

“We’re all looking at the situation there with concern,” Obama said. “Our most immediate concern with respect to protests this weekend has to do with our embassy and consulates.”

The State Department urged Americans on Friday to forgo all but essential travel to Egypt and moved to reduce the official U.S. presence in the country. Officials said they would allow some nonessential staff members and the families of personnel at the embassy to leave the country until conditions improve.

The U.S. military has put Marines stationed in southern Europe on alert in case the violence in Egypt intensifies and imperils American citizens, CNN reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials. The contingent of about 200 Marines would deploy to Egypt to protect the embassy and U.S. citizens in the country, according to CNN.

Rage in the streets as protesters stormed political offices in Egyptian cities has unnerved American diplomats, still reeling from the attack last year on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans - including the ambassador. The Obama administration appeared eager to show it was leaving nothing to chance as Egypt braced for the one-year anniversary of Morsi’s taking power as the country’s first freely elected leader.

The Benghazi attacks had followed demonstrations hours earlier outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, initially said the Benghazi attack was a copycat of the Cairo demonstrations, which later turned out to be erroneous.

Citing the challenges in fostering democracy in Egypt given its authoritarian past, Obama said the U.S. supports freedom of speech in Egypt and the right of protesters to peacefully assemble.

“We would urge all parties to make sure they’re not engaging in violence [and] police and military are showing appropriate restraint,” Obama said in Pretoria, South Africa, while on a week-long trip through sub-Saharan Africa.

At least seven Egyptians have been killed and hundreds injured in days of clashes that have fed an impending sense of doom in Egypt. Thousands of Morsi’s supporters and opponents held rival sit-ins in separate areas of Cairo on Saturday, the eve of planned, nationwide protests today demanding Morsi leave office.

Organizers of the protests, known as Tamarod, or Rebel, claimed Saturday that more than 22 million people have signed their petition demanding that Morsi step down, asserting that the tally was a reflection of how much the public has turned against his rule.

The opposition offered no proof regarding the figures. If true, it would mean that nearly double the number of people who voted for Morsi a year ago are now calling for him to step down.

“Honestly, if [today] is not a game changer, we might all just pack up our bags and leave,” said Mahmoud Salem, a prominent blogger known by his blog’s name Sandmonkey and a vocal critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Morsi is a member.

“We have a small window of opportunity, and we have no option but to seize it.”

While violence is likely in such a tense atmosphere, Salem said it would not play out in favor of Morsi supporters because they will be outnumbered.

“They have alienated everybody,” he said. Even if no violence breaks out, Salem said civil disobedience is expected in a movement designed now to “save the country.”

Adding to the tension, eight lawmakers from the country’s interim legislature announced their resignations Saturday to protest Morsi’s policies. The 270-seat chamber was elected early last year by less than 10 percent of Egypt’s eligible voters, and is dominated by Islamists who support Morsi.

Morsi’s supporters question the petition, saying his opponents are led by members of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak who are trying to orchestrate a comeback and are instigating violence.

“Today and tomorrow will be the real birth of this nation,” said Hani Salaheddin, a presenter on the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated TV station Misr 25, predicting that today’s confrontation will bring an end to the questioning of Morsi’s mandate.

“Tomorrow is the end of every corrupt person,” he said, as the slogan “legitimacy [of the ballot box] is a red line”appeared on the screen.

A poll by the Washington-based Zogby Research Services released June 17 shows support for Morsi among Egyptians plummeted to 28 percent, compared with 57 percent when he took office. More than 90 percent of the 5,029 Egyptian adults polled from April 4 to May 12 said they have confidence in the army, higher than any other institution in the country.

The president and his supporters blame the nation’s plight on the near-daily protests and the opposition’s rejection of dialogue. In a televised speech last week, Morsi said the turmoil was threatening to paralyze the state and pledged to correct mistakes he made during his tenure.

“Polarization has reached a state that endangers our nascent democratic experience and threatens chaos,” he said. “I took power at a difficult time. At times I was right, at times I was wrong.” While accusing the opposition of colluding with “enemies of the revolution,” he said he was still ready for talks.

Morsi’s detractors say the overture came too late. “A year ago this man came with a mandate,” said Wael Khalil, a political activist who voted for Morsi. “When you fail miserably, you have to be confronted. Not a single thing was achieved. It’s too much.”

The Egyptian economy is mired in the worst slowdown in two decades and the Egyptian pound has plunged to a record amid a shortage in dollars.

Egypt’s financial markets are reflecting the tension. The benchmark EGX 30 stocks index slumped 14 percent in June. The country’s default risk soared to a record 888 basis points last week, putting Egypt among the riskiest 10 credits of the world, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Khalil, who said he rejected an offer to join Morsi’s administration as an adviser, also blamed opposition groups for failing to present an alternative. The risk is that supporters of military rule or the former regime could take advantage of the chaos and end Egypt’s nascent democratic experience, he said.

In the Zogby Research poll, only 22 percent of respondents said they had confidence in the National Salvation Front, an umbrella of opposition groups.

“You don’t see that people who are angry with the Muslim Brotherhood, or just dislike the current situation are going in droves to the NSF,” said Yasser el-Shimy, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. “A lot of people talk about the good old days of Mubarak.” Information for this article was contributed by Josh Lederman, Sarah El Deeb, Deb Reichmann, Julie Pace, Maggie Michael, Hamza Hendawi of The Associated Press;and by Nadine Marroushi, Alaa Shahine, Mariam Fam, Salma El Wardany, Zaid Sabah Abd Alhamid, Julianna Goldman and Andrew J. Barden of Bloomberg News.