Supporters of Egypt’s deposed president, Muhammad Morsi, gather during their open sit-in outside Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo on August 1.
The marchers had vowed earlier on August 2 to reinforce the key Rabaa al-Adawiya site in the capital, where backers of the country’s deposed Islamist president are keeping a 24-hour vigil.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns was to arrive in Cairo later in the day, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry. Burns was expected to hold talks with Egypt’s interim foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, on August 3.
The spokesman said it was not known whether Burns would also hold talks with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the chief of the Egyptian Army, which ousted Mursi on July 3.
Egyptian Vice President Muhammad ElBaradei said in an interview published on August 2 that al-Sisi understood that there must be a political solution to the crisis.