video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Tanks deployed outside the Egyptian presidential palace on Thursday (December 6) where supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Mursi clashed into the early hours of the morning. At least two armoured troop carriers were also seen in the area outside the palace. The soldiers' badges identified them as members of the Republican Guard, whose duties include guarding the presidency. The violence that had stretched from Wednesday (December 5) afternoon into the early hours of Thursday had abated and the streets were calm. Supporters of President Mohamed Mursi and his backers in the Muslim Brotherhood clapped and chanted as they stood in large groups in the early morning sunlight. Overnight the streets near the presidential palace saw running street battles between those supporting the government and those critical of a November 22 decree putting the president above legal challenge and the rushed drafting of a constitution that critics argue does not reflect the plurality of Egyptian society.