From Arab News

Deadly clashes broke out during funerals of slain supporters of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president Sunday, as the supreme leader of the Muslim Brotherhood urged his followers to stand fast after more than 80 of them were killed in weekend violence.

Setting the stage for more confrontation, the military-installed interim president gave the prime minister the power to grant the military the right to arrest civilians in what government officials said could be a prelude to a major crackdown on Muhammad Mursi’s supporters or Islamic militants who have stepped up attacks against security forces in the Sinai Peninsula.

The extent of the bloodshed has dashed hopes of reconciliation between the country’s two camps, sharply divided over the July 3 military coup that removed Egypt’s first freely elected president following protests by millions of Egyptians demanding he step down.

Islamists staunchly reject the new leadership and insist the only possible solution to the crisis is to reinstate Mursi. Meanwhile, the interim leadership is pushing ahead with a fast-track transition plan to return to a democratically elected government by early next year.

Egypt’s interior minister, who is in charge of the police, also pledged to deal decisively with any attempts to destabilize the country, a thinly veiled warning to Mursi supporters occupying two squares in Cairo in a monthlong stand-off with security forces.

Read more at arabnews.com