Egypt's factions call for unity government

CAIRO -- A hard-line Islamist party normally allied with Egypt's president joined the liberal opposition yesterday in calling for a national unity government in a plan aimed at ending the eruption of political violence that has shaken the country and left more than 60 dead in the past week.

The unusual joint call puts further pressure on President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist, a day after the head of the armed forces warned that Egypt could collapse unless the country's feuding political factions reconcile.

The warning by Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was to both sides but was seen as an implicit criticism of Morsi, who has been unable to contain the unrest. Morsi's declaration of a monthlong state of emergency and a curfew in three of the cities hit hardest by unrest has been overtly defied by residents.

Seeking to build momentum from the military's comments, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the main liberal opposition National Salvation Front, called yesterday for a broad national dialogue grouping Morsi's government, the Muslim Brotherhood, the ultraconservative Salafis and, in a nod to the generals' role, the military.

The opposition has depicted the mayhem as a backlash against Islamists' insistence on monopolizing power and as evidence the Brotherhood and its allies are unable to manage the country on their own.

The week has seen protester attacks on police stations and government buildings, fierce clashes with security forces, mass marches and a virtual revolt in the Suez Canal city of Port Said.

Officials in the president's office and the Brotherhood, in turn, have accused the opposition of condoning or even instigating violence in a bid to thwart Islamists' repeated election victories. Morsi has invited the opposition to a dialogue, but the Front and most other parties refused, seeing his talks as window-dressing.

Yesterday, the Salafi al-Nour Party joined the Salvation Front in an initiative calling for a national unity government, effectively eroding the Brotherhood's grip on decision-making, and for amending contentious articles of the Islamist-backed constitution.

Morsi returned quickly from a brief visit to Germany yesterday.

With violence in its seventh day, two more protesters were killed in clashes with police near Cairo's Tahrir Square.