CAIRO — Egypt’s embattled president on Friday dismissed calls for early presidential elections as clashes erupted in a northern Egyptian city and unidentified assailants torched a Cairo campaign headquarters of a youth group petitioning for Mohammed Morsi’s removal from office.
In the southern city of Luxor, a Muslim cleric caused an uproar during Friday prayers when he described the youth group as ‘‘devils,’’ prompting security forces to intervene to prevent clashes inside the mosque after worshipers erupted in protest against the preacher, witnesses said.
The developments come as tensions rise ahead of June 30, when Morsi marks one year in power as Egypt’s first freely elected president following the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Clashes erupted Friday evening in downtown Cairo between security forces and members of the Black Bloc, a group of young masked men opposed to president Morsi’s rule. Protesters hurled stones at the Central Security forces who fired back tear gas, according to the MENA State news agency.
Violence has become a common feature of politics in Egypt. Over the last two years, several marches and rallies by the country’s various camps have deteriorated into street battles.
In a four-page interview with the state-run Al-Ahram daily ahead of the anniversary, Morsi said demands for an early presidential vote are both ‘‘absurd and illegal.’’ He also warned against violence during upcoming demonstrations, which the opposition plans for the anniversary to demand his ouster.
‘‘Violating the law, the use of violence, or inciting for it are unacceptable and will not be permitted,’’ Morsi told the paper on Friday. ‘‘We are in a country with a constitution and law. We had free and fair elections and the talk about early presidential elections is absurd and illegal.’’
The lengthy interview was a throwback to Mubarak’s era when the paper served as a government mouthpiece, glorifying the regime’s perceived successes and never challenging authorities.
Before dawn Friday, attackers stormed and partially torched the downtown Cairo headquarters of a volunteer youth group running a petition calling for Morsi’s removal from power.
The drive, known as ‘‘Tamarod’’ or ‘‘Rebel’’ in Arabic, is helping galvanize an opposition that has long been in disarray and demoralized. So far, the volunteers say they have collected about 7 million signatures.