Two dead as political tension mounts in Egypt

Two supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have been killed in separate incidents as the opposition continues to clash with the government supporters and plans mass protests on June 30.

The Brotherhood said on Facebook on Sunday that Karim Abdel Ghani, a member of the Nour Party, was shot dead by the “Tamarud militiamen” in Mahalla, an industrial town north of Cairo, late on Saturday.

The second man, identified as Mohamed Shalaqany, died of gunshots he had sustained a few days earlier by Tamarud members in Fayoum, a rural district south of Cairo.

The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, said it planned a funeral on Sunday for Shalaqany.

“Their name is Tamarud but they are actually remnants of the old regime,” Murad Ali, a senior FJP official, said.

Meanwhile, the most iconic youth figure of Egypt’s 2011 revolution has asked Morsi to resign.

In a video message posted on the Internet on Sunday, Wael Ghonim accused Morsi of reneging on promises he made ahead of his 2012 election.

Ghonim said the incumbent Egyptian president must act like a “patriotic Egyptian” and step down to prevent the “strife” that the North African country is heading to.

On Saturday, senior Egyptian opposition figure, Mohamed El Baradei, urged Morsi to quit.

“For Egypt’s sake, I call on President Mohamed Morsi to resign and give us the opportunity to begin a new phase based on the principles of the revolution, which are freedom and social justice,” he said.

He noted that June 30 protests are intended to “correct the path” of the popular uprising that toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Egyptian activists and opposition leaders have gathered millions of petitions, calling for Morsi’s ouster.

They also seek to press him for an early presidential election through the June 30 demonstrations.