Interim president Adly Mansour met with the National Defence Council (NDC) on Monday afternoon to discuss the impending dispersal of the Anti-Coup Alliance sit-ins in Cairo. A source from the spokesman of the armed forces office confirmed that the meeting was due to take place. State-owned news agency Al-Ahram said on Monday that Mansour was meeting with the NDC to discuss developments in matters relating to national security including the plan to disperse the sit-ins. The dispersal plan followed the presidency's announcement that mediation efforts had failed. Interim prime minister Hazem El-Beblawi, who was also expected to attend the meeting, said last Wednesday that the decision to clear the sit-ins is final and called on the remaining demonstrators to return to their homes. The council was also expected to discuss the security issues in the Sinai Peninsula, reported Al-Ahram. Thousands of demonstrators have been camped out in front of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya Mosque in Nasr City and Al-Nahda Square in Giza demanding that ousted president Mohamed Morsi be reinstated. The protesters are also calling for the reinstatement of the suspended constitution and the Shura Council that was dismissed following Morsi's ouster. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy told the BBC on Monday: "the stand-off cannot continue endlessly." It is still unclear when the security forces will clear the sit-ins and no further information has been officially released.
