CAIRO
Egypt's National Defense Council (NDC) agreed on the need to disperse sit-in staged by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo and Giza after stabilizing the deteriorating security situation in volatile Sinai, sources close to military commanders said.
The NDC convened Saturday for the second time in three days with the participation of interim President Adly Mansour, Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi and army chief and Defense Minister Gen Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.
They agreed to give priority to stabilizing the situation in Sinai and then move to disperse sit-ins in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in Cairo and Nahda Square in Giza, the sources told the Anadolu Agency.
They said the army would not intervene in the dispersing of the sit-ins and would leave that to Special Forces.
It will be done the same way the Americans dispersed the Occupy Wall Street movement after the prosecutor-general orders dispersing the sit-ins based on legal complaints filed by local residents, added the sources.
Authorities would start by blocking entry to the area and hindering all food supplies, the sources elaborated.
When dispersing the sit-in, the Special Forces would leave only one exit from the square for the protesters to use in escaping.
American anti-riot troops dispersed the Occupy Wall Street's sit-in in Los Angeles in November 2011 based on an evacuation order by the municipality chief.
The troops tightened the grip on the sit-in and declared that protesters were taking part in an illegal gathering and need to leave or face arrest.
Hundreds of protesters left voluntarily while the rest were arrested in a police raid on the place.
The official Facebook of the Egyptian army's official spokesman published today 24-hour service through which Rabaa and Nahda residents could lodge their complaints with the army through phone and mails.
The NDC, which is tasked with outlining military policies, coordinating between all state security agencies and assisting the president in making war decisions, did not issue a statement after its meeting.
The AA was not able to get comments from the meeting participants on their discussions and decisions.
Ever since his ouster by the military, Morsi's supporters have been staging daily mass demonstrations and sit-ins demanding his reinstatement.
The two biggest sit-ins have been staged in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in eastern Cairo and Nahda Square in Giza.
