The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party accused on Wednesday the National Salvation Front, Egypt's largest opposition coalition, of inciting violence in several Egyptian provinces over the past two days, in another indication of rising tensions between the regime and the opposition ahead of anti-Morsy protests slated for 30 June.
Some Egyptian governorates have seen protests and skirmishes between Brotherhood and opposition activists following an unpopular governors' reshuffle declared by President Mohamed Morsy on Sunday, which designated 17 new governors.
Protesters in a number of governorates said they would deny new officials access to their offices.
In its statement, the FJP blamed the "violence and thuggery" on the NSF and the Tamarod campaign, which has been collecting signatures in support for early presidential elections.
They held NSF leaders Mohamed ElBaradei, Hamdeen Sabbahi, and Amr Moussa responsible, saying that the three politicians continually rebuff dialogue with the president's office.
The FJP attributed the violence to political groups “that adopt violence as their doctrine, having failed to win people’s confidence at the ballot box in the numerous elections, including the presidential elections, that were held following the 25 January revolution.”
The party demanded "concerned state bodies" to bear responsibility for securing the wellbeing of citizens and properties, including the headquarters of political parties." It urged the Interior Ministry to "take all measures necessary to prevent the sabotage and chaos planned by Tamarod and the former regime loyalists associated with them."
The statement concluded with a plea to opposition groups to renounce violence and respond to calls for dialogue.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
