CAIRO
Political divisions have cast a pall on Egyptian celebrations of the Islamic Eid al-Adha feast amid ongoing rallies by both supporters and opponents of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Pro-democracy and pro-military demonstrators staged competing rallies at the Amr Ibn al-Aas Mosque, Cairo's oldest mosque, following Eid prayers on Tuesday morning.
Rival protesters almost came to blows before curators of the mosque intervened to defuse the situation.
A pro-democracy rally was also staged in southern Cairo's Maadi district, where demonstrators chanted against the July 3 "military coup" against Egypt's first freely elected president.
Many protesters flashed the now-iconic bright yellow 'Rabaa' sign in solidarity with hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators killed in mid-August in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square.
Pro-democracy demonstrators also staged Tuesday rallies in Giza, where they shouted chants against the army and police.
Rallies were also staged by the ousted president's supporters in the southern provinces of Minya and Beni Sueif following Eid prayers.
Pro-Morsi demonstrators also staged rallies in the Nile Delta Sharqiya province – including one in Al-Adwa village, Morsi's hometown – and the canal provinces of Suez and Ismailia.
The coastal city of Alexandria, meanwhile, saw rival protests staged by both supporters and opponents of the deposed president.
A pro-army rally was staged in the Nile Delta Menoufiya province, where demonstrators launched a petition campaign in support of a presidential bid by Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who is widely perceived as the architect of Morsi's July 3 ouster.
Egypt has been in a state of turmoil since the country's military establishment ousted democratically-elected Morsi more than three months ago following mass protests against his presidency.
The unconstitutional change of government is described by the ousted president's backers as a military coup, while supporters of the move call it a military-backed "popular uprising."
