Mass rival rallies called in Egypt as crisis sharpens

CAIRO (AFP) - Rival mass protests have been called for next Tuesday in Egypt over a bitterly disputed constitutional referendum, raising the potential for more violent street clashes in a sharpening political crisis.

President Mohamed Mursi's chief foes, the opposition National Salvation Front, late Sunday called for huge protests in Cairo to reject the Dec 15 referendum on a new charter.

The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Dr Mursi hails, told AFP that it and allied Islamist movements would counter with their own big rallies in the capital in support of the referendum.

If the duelling demonstrations go ahead, there is a risk of vicious further clashes like the ones that erupted between both sides outside the presidential palace last Wednesday, killing seven people and wounding hundreds.