Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters
Protesters against Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi celebrate after peacefully breaking past barbed wire barricades guarding the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 7, 2012. Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters surged around the presidential palace on Friday as the opposition rejected Morsi's call for dialogue to end a crisis that has polarized the nation and sparked deadly clashes.
Related Article: Egypt delays overseas vote on constitution as protesters gather near presidential palace
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Anti-Morsi protesters shout slogans during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4, 2012.
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
An Egyptian woman holds a national flag as she listens to speakers, not pictured, in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Dec. 4.
Reuters reports — Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohamed Morsi's palace in Cairo on Tuesday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, presidency sources said.
Officers fired teargas at up to 10,000 demonstrators angered by Morsi's drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on December 15. Some broke through police lines around his palace and protested next to the perimeter wall.
The crowds had gathered nearby in what organizers had dubbed "last warning" protests against Morsi, who infuriated opponents with a November 22 decree that expanded his powers. "The people want the downfall of the regime," the demonstrators chanted.
"The president left the palace," a presidential source, who declined to be named, told Reuters. A security source at the presidency also said the president had departed. Full story…
Asmaa Waguih / Reuters
A protester carries a shield belonging to a riot police member who ran away as protesters clash briefly with riot police during a protest in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4
Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters
A woman stands near barbed wire in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
An anti-Morsi protester sprays paint reading "Control by Revolution" on a riot police vehicle during clashes in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Dec. 4.
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square as protesters gather in Cairo, Dec. 4.
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Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi reportedly left the palace via the back door to avoid further confrontation, as crowds vented their fury at Morsi's decree granting him nearly unlimited powers. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Suhaib Salem / Reuters
A supporter of Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi kisses his picture as he celebrates in Cairo, June 18. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood declared on Monday that its candidate won the country's first free presidential race, beating Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister and ending six decades of rule by presidents plucked from the military.
Turnout, which was only 46 percent in the first round of the presidential vote, appeared to electoral officials to have been no higher for the decisive head-to-head contest. Many of the 50 million eligible voters were dismayed by an unpalatable choice between a man seen as an heir to Mubarak and the nominee of a religious party committed to reversing liberal social traditions. Some cast a ballot against both men in protest.
-- Reported by msnbc.com news services and staff
Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images
Egyptian election workers count votes at a polling station, June 17.
Suhaib Salem / Reuters
A woman votes at a polling station in Cairo, June 17.
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