Egypt's "Friday of Rejection" Leads to Casualties

The situation in Egypt snowballed on Friday, with violence erupting between Morsi supporters and pro-military protesters, leaving 36 people dead and over 1,000 injured.

Tens of thousands took to the streets across the country for what pro-Morsi demonstrators called the "Friday of Rejection", attempting to storm the military compound where the ousted president is allegedly under house arrest in order to demand his reinstatement.

In Cairo, violent clashes broke out between Muslim Brotherhood backers and anti-Morsi protesters, with people fighting late into the night using knives and petrol bombs. Military troops also reportedly opened fire on the protesters outside the army's compound, killing four people.

Another fourteen people died in bloody battles in Alexandria, where over 200 were also injured.

The violence continued on Saturday, when gunmen killed a Coptic Christian priest in Egypt's Northern Sinai in the early afternoon.

The U.S. state department has denounced the attacks, saying: "We call on all Egyptian leaders to condemn the use of force and to prevent further violence among their supporters."

Republican Senator John McCain has also called on the U.S. government "to suspend aid to Egyptian military because the military has overturned the vote of the people."

"We cannot repeat the same mistakes that we made in other times of our history by supporting removal of freely elected governments," McCain added.

The situation doesn't look like it's getting any better, either.

According to Reuters, a scary-sounding new fundamentalist group has formed in Egypt, calling itself Ansar al-Shariah. The group has denounced democracy, and said that the recent military overthrow is tantamount to "a war declared against Islam in Egypt," adding that it would gather arms to train group members to "defend" themselves.

The last 48 hours of violence follow the military's removal of Mohammed Morsi from Presidential office, in what some are labeling a "military coup." Others see the army's action as a direct expression of the people's will, after nationwide demonstrations last week called for the President to be ousted.