Egyptian police are expected to start taking action early on Monday against supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi who are gathered in crowded protest camps in Cairo, security and government sources said, a move which could trigger more bloodshed.
The sites are the main flashpoints in the confrontation between the army, which toppled Morsi last month, and supporters who demand his reinstatement.
Western and Arab mediators and some senior Egyptian government officials have been trying to persuade the army to avoid using force against the protesters, who at times can number as much as tens of thousands.
"State security troops will be deployed around the sit-ins by dawn as a start of procedures that will eventually lead to a dispersal," a senior security source said on Sunday, adding that the first step will be to surround the camps.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who toppled Morsi, has come under pressure from hardline military officers to move against the protesters, security sources say.
Almost 300 people have been killed in political violence since the overthrow, including dozens of Morsi supporters shot dead by security forces in two incidents.
Any further bloodshed would almost certainly deepen Egypt's political crisis and keep the government from dealing with vital issues such as the fragile economy.
Another security source said the decision to make a move on Monday, just after celebrations following the holy month of Ramadan, came after a meeting between the interior minister and his aides.
"The first step towards ending the sit-ins will start at dawn when protesters will be surrounded," a government official said.
Morsi's Islamist Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement on Sunday criticizing any plans by "coup makers" to interfere with their right to protest and calling on international rights groups to visit their camps to see how peaceful they were.
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