If there was a day when the post-military coup situation in Egypt could come to an explosive culmination, today is the first such opportunity. The pro-Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood-led supporters, having regained their bearings after last week's tumultuous events in which they were forcibly removed from power, have regrouped and are organizing protest marches across various Egyptian cities. The problem is that so are the victorious anti-Morsi groups, which match the supportive rallies in size, and also have the support of the military.
Ahram reports [2]:
Marches in Cairo, planned to kick off at 5pm on Sunday, will set out from Fatah Mosque in Cairo's Ramses district; the nearby Sayeda Zeinab Mosque; Mohandeseen district's Mostafa Mahmoud Square and Dawaran Shubra Square in the working-class Shubra Al-Kheima district towards Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo and the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Heliopolis - focal points of mass rallies that led to the overthrow of the Islamist president.
Anti-Morsi groups warn of a US-Brotherhood plot to "occupy" their protest venues - namely Tahrir Square - the cradle of the 2011 revolution.
In Egypt's second city of Alexandria, two marches are planned to converge at the Sidi Gaber Square - a site of many recent clashes.
Marches are scheduled towards flashpoint squares in the pivotal city of Suez, which will meet in Al-Arbaeen Square, and the Nile Delta city of Mahala at Al-Shoun Square.
Provincial towns in Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta will see mass rallies converge outside governors' offices. Rival demonstrations by the former president's Islamist backers – a strong force in Upper Egypt - are planned in the same cities, heightening fears of more violent showdowns.
Since president Morsi's ouster on Wednesday, street battles between rival factions have killed at least 37 people and injured more than 1,400.
The Muslim Brotherhood-led National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy has called for mass nationwide rallies on Sunday to defend Morsi's "constitutional legitimacy." Thousands of Morsi supporters have already been camping out at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo for over a week with plans to continue.
More pro-Morsi demonstrations are planned in other focal points in Cairo, inducing the Presidential Guard Building and Nahda Square near Cairo University - a scene of fierce clashes between rival camps last week.
Yet little does the combustible situation justice quite as effectively as the following two images from Al Jazeera [3], showing both the anti-Morsi demonstrations in Tahrir Square...
[4]
... and the pro-Morsi protest gathering in Nasr City.
[5]
As well as this panorama shot courtesy of JamalsNews [6]:
[7]