By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Egypt’s military rulers and the Muslim Brotherhood escalated their confrontation on Friday as the generals threatened to use “the utmost firmness†to preserve their authority and the Islamists presented a reunited front with some of their former allies from the revolt against Hosni Mubarak.
Supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, protest against the military’s tightening grasp on political power in Tahrir Square.
More than 100,000 protesters poured into Tahrir Square for a fourth day, demanding that the generals cede power to elected civilians at the end of the month as they had promised. But anxiety was high, and there was talk of a potential explosion after a state-run Web site floated rumors that the election commission would invalidate the results of last weekend’s presidential runoff and declare Ahmed Shafik, a former air force general, the next president. A public vote count showed that the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohamed Morsi, had won. MORE from NYTIMES
