Protestors sweep their way to the gate of the presidential palace in Cairo

Protestors opposed to Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi made their way through wire barriers outside his palace in Cairo as others tried to climb the gate on Friday night after security guards withdrew forces.

Clashes between security forces and protestors resulted in injuries amongst the Republican Army, Al Arabiya correspondent reported.

The Republican Army said it is neutral and its responsibility is to protect state institutions.

George Isaac, activist and member of the Dostour party said Mursi had a "golden opportunity" but didn't know how to use it.

“We are listening to the street pulse today and its demand today has reached the high ceiling. We urge the president to withdraw the constitutional declaration."

Short after protestors reached the gates of the presidential palace, Egyptian Vice President Mahmoud Mekki announced Friday Mursi's decision to hold off the votes of Egyptians abroad till the upcoming Wednesday.

"We will use any means necessary to bring down the regime," warned Ahmed Dewedar, 25, a protester camping out in the capital's Tahrir square. "There will be no stability until our demands are met."

Thousands of protestors gathered in front of the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday to put an end to what they described as dictatorial powers of President Mohamad Mursi, and to postpone the vote on a controversial new constitution as clashes between protestors and Muslim Brotherhood members took place across the country.

Clashes between supporters and opponents of Mursi continued throughout Friday evening in numerous provinces around the country as security was reinforced in front of the Federal Palace.

Marchers gathered peacefully earlier on Friday, with the outraged crowds shouting “We want to see the fall of the regime,” there were fears the scene could turn violent if Mursi supporters turned out in strength for a counter-demonstration, as they did earlier this week.

On Wednesday, seven people died and more than 600 people were hurt in bloody clashes between the dueling camps.

The army on Thursday ordered the square in front of the presidential palace cleared. Troops deployed tanks and set up barbed-wire barricades blocking access.

Both Mursi's Islamist backers and the largely secular opposition have dug in their positions in the confrontation, raising the prospect of further escalation of the crisis rocking the Arab world's most populous state.

In a speech on Thursday, Mursi sought to portray elements of the opposition as "thugs" allied to remnants of the regime of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak, toppled in a February 2011 uprising.

He defended a decree issued two weeks ago giving him sweeping powers immune from judicial challenge, and vowed to push on with a December 15 referendum on a new constitution drafted by a panel dominated by his Islamist allies.

A grudging offer to sit down with the opposition for talks on Saturday was rebuffed by the National Salvation Front coalition ranged against him.

The Front accused the president of “dividing Egyptians between his ‘supporters of legitimacy’... and his opponents, whom he calls ‘thugs’.”

The opposition sees the decree as a brazen power grab, and the draft constitution as an attempt to quash Egypt's secular underpinnings in favor of Islamic aspirations.

Demonstrators taking to Cairo's streets said they were determined to stop Mursi.

“We will use any means to bring down the regime,” said a young man in his 20s, Ahmad Dewedar, camping out in the capital's Tahrir Square, one of the focal points of protest.

But determination flashed equally brightly among those backing Mursi, especially at a Cairo funeral procession mourning several of the seven killed this week, who were said to be Muslim Brotherhood members.

“We will avenge them through the courts,” said one Muslim Brotherhood supporter attending the service in the Al-Azhar mosque.

He dismissed the protesters, saying: “The rest of the people, all the people are with us, with the (draft) constitution,” he said.

The demonstrations seen this week were the biggest since Mursi took office in June. The street clashes were also reminiscent of the upheaval that accompanied Mubarak's overthrow early last year.

At least four of Mursi's advisers have quit over the crisis, and the Cairo stock market has taken a heavy hit.

Egypt's top Islamic body on Thursday also called on Mursi to suspend the decree.

The United States and European Union have called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed “deep concern” in a call to Mursi on Thursday, the White House said.
U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay on Friday criticized the draft constitution and “the way the process has been short-circuited,” saying “people are right to be very concerned.”

She highlighted the proposed charter's perceived weaknesses in upholding human rights and gender equality, the primacy of Islamic sharia law in the text, and its potential to give the president “excessive power” over the judiciary.