CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military chief called for mass rallies on Friday to give him a mandate to confront violence following the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, appearing to raise the pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood.
General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed Mursi on July 3 and replaced his government with an interim administration, also promised on Wednesday that there would be no retreat from the army-backed roadmap that envisions parliamentary elections in about six months.
"I request that all Egyptians next Friday ... go down (into the street) to give me a mandate and an order to confront possible violence and terrorism," he told a military graduation ceremony in remarks broadcast live by state media. Sisi also urged national reconciliation after months of upheaval.
A senior member of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, Essam El-Erian, said Sisi's appeal represented a threat, adding that it would not halt Islamist protests urging the immediate restoration of the president. "Your threat will not prevent millions from continuing to gather," Erian wrote on Facebook.
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