CAIRO
Thousands of supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi on Monday marched from Cairo's Ramses Square to Rabaa al-Adawiya Square, the site of a major pro-Morsi sit-in, in a show of defiance against the government's stated intention to break up the six-week-old demonstrations.
The march is being organized by the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a pro-Morsi coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood, as part of daily protests across the country to demand the deposed leader's reinstatement.
An Anadolu Agency correspondent at the scene reported that marchers carried Egyptian flags and posters bearing Morsi's image. Marchers also carried a huge banner bearing the word "Peaceful."
Demonstrators also chanted slogans against the "military coup" against Egypt's elected leader, calling for the prosecution of military chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, widely seen as the architect of Morsi's July 3 ouster.
The march comes amid increasing reports that authorities plan to begin dispersing the two largest pro-Morsi sit-ins – in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square and Nahda Square in Giza – where pro-democracy activists have been protesting for 41 and 45 days respectively.
The Egyptian government has said that it views the twin sit-ins as a "threat" to Egypt's national security.
Last week, it mandated the Interior Ministry, which controls Egypt's sprawling police apparatus, to take "all necessary measures" to disperse the ongoing demonstrations.
Security sources said the dispersion would begin by cordoning off the protest sites for two or three days, before security personnel move in with water cannons and tear gas to disperse any remaining demonstrators.
