(Reuters) - Egyptian police will blockade a Muslim Brotherhood protest camp set up by supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi but hold off from storming the site, state TV said on Friday.
The decision should lessen the chance of a bloody showdown between protestors and security forces and follows diplomatic efforts and international appeals to the new army-installed government to avoid further violence in the political crisis.
Thousands of Mursi supporters at the camps had been girding for a confrontation with security forces after the government warned earlier this week they should give up or face action.
"The idea of storming the camp by force is one rejected by the Interior Ministry, but a blockade will be imposed in all the streets leading to Rabaa," state TV's security correspondent reported from outside the Interior Ministry.
He was referring to Rabaa al-Adawiya, site of the biggest of two protests by the Brotherhood in Cairo.
Almost 300 people have died in political violence since Mursi was overthrown on July 3, including 80 of his supporters killed by security forces in clashes on July 27.
Mursi, who became Egypt's first freely elected president in June 2012, had faced weeks of demonstrations against his rule.
Many Egyptians were frustrated by his failure to get to grips with social and economic problems and feared he was leading the country towards stricter Islamist control.
Mursi is now in custody at a secret location.
The turmoil has left Egypt more polarized than at any time since U.S.-backed autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011.
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