Morsi supporters start a day of protests

Protesters supporting deposed President Mohamed Morsi flocked to Rabea al-Adaweya Mosque on Friday afternoon to mark a day of wide-scale demonstrations demanding the return of the ousted president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice portal reported on Friday.

Morsi was deposed when the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a statement ousting him on July 3, following mass protests demanding his resignation. 

Marches of Morsi supporters began heading to Rabea al-Adaweya earlier on Friday, carrying symbolic coffins and chanting against Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces. At least 52 people were killed on July 8 after clashes broke out at a sit-in of Morsi's supporters in front of the Republican Guards headquarters. 

Live footage from the protest showed demonstrators chanting, "We are the revolutionaries," and "The true free people can be found in this square."

Pro-Morsi protesters staged another major demonstration in Nahda Square on the opposite side of Cairo. 

Supporters of Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups have also been staging a sit-in around the Rabea al-Adaweya Mosque since last week.

The Brotherhood portal reported that the sit-ins will organize an iftar dinner for all those who joined the protests to break their fast at sunset. Protest organizers said the iftar meals have been sponsored collectively by those participating in the sit-in, denying any financial support from the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

Meanwhile, interim President Adly Mansour, who was appointed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and newly appointed Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi have been arranging for the formation of a new cabinet after issuing the July 8 Constitutional Declaration.