Thousands of supporters of Egypt's embattled Islamist president are rallying in the nation's capital in a show of support ahead of what are expected to be massive opposition-led protests to demand Mohammed Morsi's removal.

The president's supporters held Friday prayers in streets surrounding a main mosque in Cairo, close to the presidential palace that in two days will be the focal point of opposition protests.

During Friday's sermon, the cleric warned that if Mr Morsi is ousted "there will be no president for the country" and Egypt will descend into "opposition hell."

The opposition push is rooted in a campaign to collect signatures on a petition calling for Mr Morsi's dismissal and early presidential elections.

The campaign, called Tamarod, says that it has collected up to 20 million signatures.

Egypt's main opposition coalition has rejected Mr Morsi's offer for talks on reconciliation.

Adding to an already explosive political atmosphere in Egypt, the authorities issued a travel ban on a media tycoon and an arrest warrant for a popular TV presenter - a sharp critic of Mr Morsi.

It appears to be an escalation against private media accused by the president of instigating violence and being funded by those loyal to the former regime.

A statement by the National Salvation Front read by reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei said Mr Morsi's lengthy speech on Wednesday reflected a "clear inability to acknowledge the difficult conditions in Egypt because of his failure in running the country since he took office a year ago".

In the speech, Mr Morsi told his opponents to use elections not protests to try to change the government, and advised the military, which has warned it would intervene if violence breaks out, to focus on defending the nation.

He defended his performance in his first year in office, admitting some mistakes but also claiming achievements.

However the president offered no compromises in the confrontation with his opponents.

Those organising the protests for Sunday - the anniversary of Mr Morsi's inauguration - say he must go because he has mismanaged the country, given a monopoly on decision-making to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist allies, and encroached on the judiciary.

"The president ... did not take responsibility for the polarisation he has caused among the sons of one nation since taking office," Mr ElBaradei said.

The Nobel Peace Laureate and a former head of the UN nuclear watchdog added: "Nothing will change our determination to go out on June 30 everywhere in Egypt.

"We are confident that the Egyptian masses will go out in their millions in peaceful protests that fill the streets and squares of Egypt."

Tension built up in Egypt ahead of Sunday's protests with the army reinforcing its positions outside major cities in anticipation of possible violence.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.