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| Cracks Emerge as Egyptians Form Cabinet | Cracks Emerge as Egyptians Form Cabinet |
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| CAIRO — Egypt’s new leaders struggled to put together a new government on Saturday, with disagreement over who should be the interim prime minister spilling out into public view and showcasing the divisions among those who endorsed the overthrow of the country’s first democratically elected president. | CAIRO — Egypt’s new leaders struggled to put together a new government on Saturday, with disagreement over who should be the interim prime minister spilling out into public view and showcasing the divisions among those who endorsed the overthrow of the country’s first democratically elected president. |
| State news media had reported that Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Prize-winning diplomat and a vocal critic of Egypt’s last three rulers, had been chosen as prime minister, a move that would have given the generals who ousted President Mohamed Morsi a head of government likely to appeal to the country’s secularists and to the West. | State news media had reported that Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Prize-winning diplomat and a vocal critic of Egypt’s last three rulers, had been chosen as prime minister, a move that would have given the generals who ousted President Mohamed Morsi a head of government likely to appeal to the country’s secularists and to the West. |
| But within hours, the country’s powerful ultraconservative Islamist party said it would refuse to work with Mr. ElBaradei in protest of his secular views. The new president then backed away from earlier reports that Mr. ElBaradei had been offered the job. | |
| The continued chaos underlined deep divisions in Egypt, which has lurched from crisis to crisis since the Arab Spring revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Islamists and secularists have battled for power, even after democratic elections brought Mr. Morsi and the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood a measure of legitimacy. | The continued chaos underlined deep divisions in Egypt, which has lurched from crisis to crisis since the Arab Spring revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Islamists and secularists have battled for power, even after democratic elections brought Mr. Morsi and the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood a measure of legitimacy. |
| Mr. Morsi was ultimately unseated by the country’s generals on Wednesday for failing to bring the country’s political factions together, with many saying the Islamists had taken too much power. But with the initial reports that Mr. ElBaredei had been named prime minister on Saturday, the pendulum appeared to have swung the other way. | Mr. Morsi was ultimately unseated by the country’s generals on Wednesday for failing to bring the country’s political factions together, with many saying the Islamists had taken too much power. But with the initial reports that Mr. ElBaredei had been named prime minister on Saturday, the pendulum appeared to have swung the other way. |
| Mr. ElBaradei, who is respected worldwide for his work on nuclear issues, has long been a divisive figure in Egypt. He was a strong advocate for the toppling of President Mubarak but has not enjoyed wide popularity in the Egyptian streets. He had considered running for president but dropped out, disappointing his liberal supporters, because he was unlikely to win. | Mr. ElBaradei, who is respected worldwide for his work on nuclear issues, has long been a divisive figure in Egypt. He was a strong advocate for the toppling of President Mubarak but has not enjoyed wide popularity in the Egyptian streets. He had considered running for president but dropped out, disappointing his liberal supporters, because he was unlikely to win. |
| Signs emerged immediately that the reported appointment was not final, with state TV making only passing references to the appointment and Ahram Online, the Web site of Egypt’s flagship newspaper, saying that the appointment would be announced at a news conference that never materialized. | Signs emerged immediately that the reported appointment was not final, with state TV making only passing references to the appointment and Ahram Online, the Web site of Egypt’s flagship newspaper, saying that the appointment would be announced at a news conference that never materialized. |
| “This is how it is with a revolution,” said Rania Azab, a news media adviser for Mr. ElBaradei, who insisted late Saturday that he had been chosen to form an interim cabinet. “You have to bear with us.” She did not respond to telephone calls after it became clear that Mr. ElBaradei’s appointment was not a done deal. | “This is how it is with a revolution,” said Rania Azab, a news media adviser for Mr. ElBaradei, who insisted late Saturday that he had been chosen to form an interim cabinet. “You have to bear with us.” She did not respond to telephone calls after it became clear that Mr. ElBaradei’s appointment was not a done deal. |
| In Washington, President Obama met with the National Security Council by conference call and condemned the continuing violence in Egypt, the White House said in a statement. Speaking as the political struggle unfolded in Cairo, he said the United States was “not aligned with, and does not support, any particular Egyptian political party or group.” | |
| Mr. ElBaradei said in an interview last week that he had worked hard to convince Western powers of what he called the necessity of ousting Mr. Morsi, contending that the president had bungled the country’s transition to an inclusive democracy. | Mr. ElBaradei said in an interview last week that he had worked hard to convince Western powers of what he called the necessity of ousting Mr. Morsi, contending that the president had bungled the country’s transition to an inclusive democracy. |
| In the interview, Mr. ElBaradei also defended the widening arrests of Mr. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood allies and the shutdown of Islamist television networks that followed the removal of Mr. Morsi. | In the interview, Mr. ElBaradei also defended the widening arrests of Mr. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood allies and the shutdown of Islamist television networks that followed the removal of Mr. Morsi. |
| On Saturday, Egyptians buried their dead and treated their wounded while struggling to come to terms with the widespread street violence that left more than 30 people dead and 1,400 injured the previous day. | On Saturday, Egyptians buried their dead and treated their wounded while struggling to come to terms with the widespread street violence that left more than 30 people dead and 1,400 injured the previous day. |
| Rubble, shattered glass and spent shotgun shells littered intersections and bridges in Cairo, where battles between Islamist supporters of Mr. Morsi and those celebrating his removal raged into the early morning. | Rubble, shattered glass and spent shotgun shells littered intersections and bridges in Cairo, where battles between Islamist supporters of Mr. Morsi and those celebrating his removal raged into the early morning. |
| The Health Ministry said the death toll since the violence began on Friday had risen to 36, with about 1,400 wounded nationwide. | The Health Ministry said the death toll since the violence began on Friday had risen to 36, with about 1,400 wounded nationwide. |
| Many were shocked by the level of violence and by the abundance of guns in the hands of the combatants, whose stark disagreement over who should be ruling the country followed them into hospital wards. A Coptic priest was shot dead in the northern Sinai Peninsula, and a video circulated showing what appeared to be Islamists pushing two youths from a concrete tower atop a building. | Many were shocked by the level of violence and by the abundance of guns in the hands of the combatants, whose stark disagreement over who should be ruling the country followed them into hospital wards. A Coptic priest was shot dead in the northern Sinai Peninsula, and a video circulated showing what appeared to be Islamists pushing two youths from a concrete tower atop a building. |
| The violence was the most widespread since the revolution that toppled Mr. Mubarak, and many feared that it would make it harder for the country’s deeply divided populace to again accept the authority of a single leader. | The violence was the most widespread since the revolution that toppled Mr. Mubarak, and many feared that it would make it harder for the country’s deeply divided populace to again accept the authority of a single leader. |
| “We have no idea what’s going on,” said Muhammad Ahmed, 27, standing near the bed of a friend, Muhammad Ali, in Qasr al-Aini Hospital in Cairo. Mr. Ali had been shot in the abdomen and sprayed with birdshot in his back during a clash near Cairo University with pro-Morsi marchers. | “We have no idea what’s going on,” said Muhammad Ahmed, 27, standing near the bed of a friend, Muhammad Ali, in Qasr al-Aini Hospital in Cairo. Mr. Ali had been shot in the abdomen and sprayed with birdshot in his back during a clash near Cairo University with pro-Morsi marchers. |
| “It’s a nightmare,” Mr. Ahmed said. “I don’t understand anything.” | “It’s a nightmare,” Mr. Ahmed said. “I don’t understand anything.” |
| The director of the hospital’s emergency unit, Hisham Abu Aisha, said Saturday that the hospital had admitted 83 injured people from the previous night’s clashes in various Cairo neighborhoods. Most had been shot with birdshot, while others had been stabbed, beaten or hit with rocks. | The director of the hospital’s emergency unit, Hisham Abu Aisha, said Saturday that the hospital had admitted 83 injured people from the previous night’s clashes in various Cairo neighborhoods. Most had been shot with birdshot, while others had been stabbed, beaten or hit with rocks. |
| Four bodies had been taken to the hospital, and another person had died in the emergency room. | Four bodies had been taken to the hospital, and another person had died in the emergency room. |
| Most disconcerting, Dr. Abu Aisha said, were the 15 people who had arrived with gunshot wounds, indicating a presence of guns among protesters that many in Cairo would have once found unthinkable. | Most disconcerting, Dr. Abu Aisha said, were the 15 people who had arrived with gunshot wounds, indicating a presence of guns among protesters that many in Cairo would have once found unthinkable. |
| Dr. Abu Aisha said the hardest part was the continuation of street fights in the sprawling hospital’s wards. | Dr. Abu Aisha said the hardest part was the continuation of street fights in the sprawling hospital’s wards. |
| “There were dead and wounded from both sides, and they wanted to finish each other off, so they beat each other inside the hospital,” he said. “There is no agreement and everyone is sticking to their views and we can’t come up with a plan to move the country forward.” | “There were dead and wounded from both sides, and they wanted to finish each other off, so they beat each other inside the hospital,” he said. “There is no agreement and everyone is sticking to their views and we can’t come up with a plan to move the country forward.” |
| Also Saturday, security officials said Khairat el-Shater, the powerful financier and strategist of Mr. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, had been arrested. About 200 Brotherhood members were put on arrest lists after Mr. Morsi’s ouster. Some prominent members have been released, while others remain detained. | Also Saturday, security officials said Khairat el-Shater, the powerful financier and strategist of Mr. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, had been arrested. About 200 Brotherhood members were put on arrest lists after Mr. Morsi’s ouster. Some prominent members have been released, while others remain detained. |
| Adli Mansour, the interim president, met with Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, who is the defense minister and leader of the armed forces, and also with the interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police, at the presidential palace that had been occupied by Mr. Morsi just last week. | Adli Mansour, the interim president, met with Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, who is the defense minister and leader of the armed forces, and also with the interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, who is in charge of the police, at the presidential palace that had been occupied by Mr. Morsi just last week. |
| Mr. Mansour, a former chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, has spoken publicly only once since his swearing-in, and it remains unclear when a new government will be formed and how much power it will have. Islamist supporters who consider Mr. Morsi’s removal a military coup continued their sit-in in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City and in front of the officers’ club of the Republican Guard, where some believe Mr. Morsi is being held. The authorities have given no information on Mr. Morsi’s location since his ouster. | Mr. Mansour, a former chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, has spoken publicly only once since his swearing-in, and it remains unclear when a new government will be formed and how much power it will have. Islamist supporters who consider Mr. Morsi’s removal a military coup continued their sit-in in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City and in front of the officers’ club of the Republican Guard, where some believe Mr. Morsi is being held. The authorities have given no information on Mr. Morsi’s location since his ouster. |