Tanks Outside Egypt Presidential Palace, Streets Calm

At least four tanks deployed outside the Egyptian presidential palace on Thursday in a street where supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi had been clashing into the early hours of the morning, Reuters witnesses said.

Three armored troop carriers were also in the street outside the palace. The violence that had stretched from Wednesday afternoon into the early hours of Thursday had abated and the streets were calm.

The soldiers’ badges identified them as members of the Republican Guard, whose duties include guarding the presidency.

Traffic was moving through streets strewn with rocks thrown during the violence. Hundreds of Morsi supporters were still in the area, many wrapped in blankets and some reading the Koran.

“We came here to support President Morsi and his decisions. He is the elected president of Egypt,” said Emad Abou Salem, 40, a Morsi supporter. “He has legitimacy and nobody else does.”

Reuters