Morsi gives army power to arrest civilians ahead of protest

Egyptian army soldiers form barrier in Cairo  Cairo – Arabstoday with agencies Egypt's President Morsi has given the army the right to arrest civilians in a bid to control the unrest ravaging the country. This order comes as opposition groups have called for a mass rally on Tuesday. Clashes between Muslim Brotherhood and opposition supporters have claimed the lives of seven civilians and left hundreds injured.
Morsi has ordered the army to fully cooperate with the police “to preserve security and protect vital state institutions for a temporary period until the referendum’s results,” read the statement released by the Egyptian government.
Army chiefs have sought to remain neutral in the political crisis, but warned that they will not allow the situation to deteriorate.
Army tanks and troops have since Thursday deployed around Morsi's presidential palace but they have not confronted thousands of protesters who have gathered there every night.
The opposition, made up of secular, liberal, leftwing and Christian groups, has said it will escalate its protests to scupper the referendum.
It views the draft constitution, largely drafted by Morsi's Islamist allies, as undermining human rights, the rights of women, religious minorities, and curtailing the independence of the judiciary.
Morsi, though, has defiantly pushed on with the new charter, seeing it as necessary to secure democratic reform in the wake of Mubarak's 30-year autocratic rule.
Late Sunday, the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, called for huge protests in Cairo to reject the December 15 referendum.