Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi held rival rallies in the capital, Cairo, today as the country braced for massive protests tomorrow to call for the Islamist leader's ouster.
While the protests in Cairo remained peaceful, deadly clashes erupted in the port city of Alexandria, where protesters set fire to headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which supports Mursi.
Islamists are a staging a sit-in to abort the planned protests by the opposition on the day Mursi, the first civil elected president, would complete a year in power.
The rallies follow days of deadly clashes in cities across the country that have left at least seven people dead and hundreds injured.
Mursi's opponents are demanding that the president step down and early elections be held. They say the Egyptian president has been caring for Islamists only and not all Egyptians including non-Muslims.
In response to the protests, Egypt's government has deployed military security forces to patrol the streets, state media reported.
Mursi's supporters said they would resort to violence rather than let the first Muslim Brotherhood president go.
His supporters believe that Mursi was not given a fair chance as the media is against him along with remnants of the old regime of former strongman Hosni Mubarak.
They insist his achievements have been belittled by the media and his efforts not highlighted enough.
Tomorrow's campaign is a campaign by youth which three months ago to collect signatures by Egyptians to withdraw support from President Morsi.
The campaign claimed that it had gathered signatures from more than 22 million Egyptians.
Members of the campaign today passed over building close to the presidential palace to ask residents to make sure the rooftops are not accessible to be used by snipers against protesters.
Youth have already started a sit-in in front of Morsi's house in his hometown in Sharqiyah. Non-Islamist members of the Upper House of Parliament have submitted their resignation from the council in objection to the president's policies.
The Grand Shaeikh of AL-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayyeb and Coptic Pope Tawadros have both made last minute pleas on people to abandon violence with Al-Tayyeb calling on the president to hold constructive dialogue with the opposition.
Since Mursi took office, Egypt's already sour economy has plummeted even further, and investors have pulled out of the country in droves.
As crime rates in Egypt have shot up, some are calling for a return to the law and order they knew under Mubarak's autocratic rule paired with the iron hand of the military.
Mursi gave a speech this week highlighting his achievements during his first year in office.
But opposition members said he did not address his shortcomings, and issued a statement calling for snap presidential polls, a new government and constitutional amendments.
