CAIRO — Egypt's president delivered a stern warning to his opponents on Sunday, saying he may be close to taking unspecified measures to “protect this nation” two days after supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood and opposition protesters fought street battles in the worst bout of political violence in three months.
Nearly 200 people were injured in Friday's violence, some seriously, outside the headquarters of the Brotherhood, Egypt's dominant political group.
“If I have to do what is necessary to protect this nation, I will, and I am afraid that I may be close to doing so,” a visibly angry Mohamed Morsy said in an animated speech to the opening session of a conference on women's rights.
“I will do so very, very soon. Sooner than those trying to shake the image of this nation think,” said the Islamist leader who took office in June as the country's first freely elected president.
“Let us not be dragged into an area where I will take a harsh decision,” he warned.
While not naming any one opposition group or critic in particular, Morsy's comments were the strongest hint to date that he believes the parties and politicians grouped in the National Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition, were directly behind the violence.
His comments were initially released in a series of tweets on his account, but state television later aired extensive excerpts from his address.
