Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi has come under international pressure to engage in "serious national dialogue" hours after he rebuffed an army ultimatum to find a resolution to the political crisis.
The UN human rights office called on the Morsi's government on Tuesday to listen to the demands of the Egyptian people and engage in a "serious national dialogue" to defuse the crisis.
Rupert Colville, spokesman of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, also said the role of the Egyptian military was crucial.
"Nothing should be done that would undermine democratic processes," he told a briefing.
Earlier, US President Obama spoke to the Egyptian leader via phone, where he "stressed that democracy is about more than elections; it is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country," the White House confirmed.
Morsi has described the 48-hour deadline, set on Monday by the head of the armed forces for him to agree on a common platform with liberal rivals, as confusing.
The protests have drawn at least 14 million people into the streets, with a large number of them demanding Morsi's resignation.
"As each hour goes past, the stakes are getting higher," said Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo.
She said that each group was becoming more divided as the army deadline approaches, and that more protests were expected by those supporting and against the Egyptian president.
In a statement issued at nearly 2am on Tuesday, nine hours after General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delighted Morsi's opponents by effectively ordering the president to heed the demands of demonstrators, the president's office used considerably less direct language.
"The president of the republic was not consulted about the statement issued by the armed forces," it said.
"The presidency sees that some of the statements in it carry meanings that could cause confusion in the complex national environment."
Spate of resignations
The stalemate has triggered a series of resignations by cabinet ministers, leaving Morsi isolated.
Senior officials who have quit include foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, who tendered his resignation on Tuesday.
Others who have resigned are tourism minister Hisham Zaazou; communication and IT minister Atef Helmi; the minister for legal and parliamentary affairs, Hatem Bagato; water minister Abdel Qawy Khalifa; and environment minister Khaled Abdel-Aal.
Morsi also lost the support of Sami Enan, his military adviser, who resigned and said the army would not “abandon the will of the people.”At least seven people, including a US citizen, have been killed and dozens injured in clashes between protesters opposed to Morsi and those backing him.
Army ultimatum
The Egyptian army gave the country's politicians a 48 hours ultimatum to resolve the current political stalemate, emboldening Morsi's opponents and pushing the most populous Arab nation deeper into uncertainty.
"The national security of the state is in severe danger,” said an army statement, warning that if there was no resolution the military would "be obliged by its patriotic and historic responsibilities... to announce a road map for the future and the steps for overseeing its implementation, with participation of all patriotic and sincere parties and movements."
It described the mass protests on Sunday that brought out millions of Egyptians demanding Morsi's resignation as "glorious".Opponents of Morsi viewed the army statement as an endorsement and continued to flood the streets to press on the president to step down.
Morsi supporters criticised the ultimatum as an attempted coup. A group of pro-Morsi parties, calling themselves the “coalition to defend legitimacy,” called for mass protests in support of the president during a late-night press conference.
“We reject attempts to use the army to attack the legitimacy of the president," said Safwat Abdel Ghani, a senior member of the Gamaa al-Islamiyya.
Gehad el-Haddad, a senior adviser to the Freedom and Justice Party of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, said the military was trying to paper over its own poor performance during the transitional period after Mubarak's ouster.
"The right of the people to choose the leader of the country will not be jeopardised by anyone, even by those with guns," he said in an interview
Morsi's office in a statement early on Tuesday morning said the president was not aware of the ultimatum before it was issued and insisted that he was working to reconcile the country's political factions and resolve the crisis.
Hours after the ultimatum, army helicopters flew over Tahrir Square trailing large Egyptian flags, a move interpreted by protesters as a show of support.
“The army and the people are one hand,” protesters chanted.
Tamarod, the grassroots campaign behind the latest anti-Morsi protests, praised the statement, saying it showed the military was on the side of the people.
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