CAIRO — Thousands of Islamists loyal to Egypt's ousted president are defying a government warning to disband their marathon sit-in protest in Cairo.
The defiance by Mohammed Morsi's followers has raised the specter of a new round of violence and concerns that security forces would move in to break up the protest camps in the eastern suburb of Nasser City and in Giza.
But by early afternoon Thursday there were no significant movements by Egyptian forces against the protesters in either camp.
On Wednesday, Egypt's military-backed Cabinet issued the order that the Muslim Brotherhood sit-in be cleared.
A Brotherhood leader, Essam el-Erian, said on his official Facebook page that "the people will be victorious."
At least 130 Brotherhood supporters have died in clashes with security forces since Morsi's July 3 ouster.
