CAIRO, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian interim President Adli Mansour on Friday called on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to end their sit-in and return to their homes.
"Go back home and I personally promise that no one will legally pursue you," Mansour said in a phone interview with a local TV channel Friday evening, addressing Morsi's supporters, particularly the throngs at Rabia al-Adawiya Square in Cairo and Nahda Square near Cairo University in Giza.
Mansour's statement came as millions of Egyptians held rival protests across the country, some resulting in violent clashes.
Massive crowds gathered at the symbolic Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, the vicinity of the presidential palace in Heliopolis, as well as central squares in Gharbiya, Suez and other governorates, showing support for efforts by the army and police to fight "violence and terrorism."
Supporters of the deposed president, on the other hand, rallied at different squares in Cairo and other governorates, demanding Morsi's return as a legitimate president.
"If the protesters in Rabia al-Adawiya are convinced that they are defending a lost case, it is not shameful to leave the square, " Mansour said.
The interim president called on the West to "look at the satellite channels now to see the Egyptians," referring to millions of pro-military and anti-Morsi protesters.
Mansour said that he is "a president for all Egyptians, not for a specific faction or group."
At least five people were killed and over 100 others were injured on Friday in clashes between Morsi's opponents and loyalists during protests in the coastal governorate of Alexandria.
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