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Egypt's Interim Leaders Struggle as Violence Continues

by Nuzha Nuseibeh

Things are getting tricky for interim Egyptian President Adli Mansour, whose decree has not only been rejected by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Tamarrod movement, but is now under scrutiny by Egypt's main liberal party as well. Meanwhile, the violence rages on, as another two people were killed in Sinai Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, the main liberal opposition party in Egypt shut down Mansour's constitutional decree—but then reportedly retracted their statement a day later.

"The National Salvation Front announces its rejection of the constitutional decree," the NSF party announced on Tuesday. It then withdrew the statement on Wednesday, but maintained that it had not been included in the drafting of the declaration and “therefore the decree was issued including articles we disagree with,” PressTV reports.

The National Salvation Front—the main liberal party in Egypt—includes a wide range of secular and leftist groups, and was led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mohamed ElBaradei until he was appointed as Egypt's deputy President on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Adli Mansour appointed economist Hazem el-Beblawi as interim Prime Minister. El-Beblawi is due to begin forming the transitional Cabinet on Wednesday— and the Muslim Brotherhood has already rejected an offer to join.

The Tamarrod movement—which led the nationwide protests on June 30 demanding Morsi's removal—rejected Mansour's charter in a Tweet on Tuesday. It also claimed it had not been consulted on the decree, and is demanding a meeting with the interim President.

Meanwhile, militants reportedly hit several police and military personell in Egypt's Sinai peninsula early on Wednesday, killing two with mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades.

The unrest began over a week ago, when the Tamarrod movement organized demonstrations around the country to demand that ex-President Mohammed Morsi step down. The military then intervened and ultimately ousted the President, replacing him with interim leader Adli Mansour. Violence has since then erupted between those who support the ousted President and those who do not, with 51 killed in clashes on Monday. Egyptian prosecutors have ordered the arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, on charges of inciting violence.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has condemned the military's actions, calling them "illicit means" and "a military coup." But the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have pledged over $8 billion to Egypt in a show of support to the new government. What the United States will do, remains to be seen.