CAIRO, Jan 30: A hardline Islamist party normally allied to Egypt’s president joined the liberal opposition on Wednesday in calling for a national unity government as part of a plan aimed at ending the eruption of political violence that has shaken the country.

The unusual joint call puts further pressure on Islamist President Mohamed Morsi a day after the head of the armed forces warned that Egypt could collapse unless the country's feuding political factions reconcile.

The warning by Gen Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was to both sides but was seen as an implicit criticism of Morsi, who has been unable to contain the unrest through an attempted firm hand. Morsi's declaration of a month-long state of emergency and a curfew in three of the cities hardest hit by unrest has been overtly defied by the cities' residents.

Seeking to build momentum from the military's comments, Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the main liberal opposition National Salvation Front, called on Wednesday for a broad national dialogue grouping Morsi's government, the Muslim Brotherhood, the ultraconservative Salafis and — in a nod to the generals' role — the military.

The opposition has depicted the mayhem as a backlash against Islamists' insistence on monopolising power and as evidence that the Brotherhood and its allies are unable to manage the country on their own.  The past week has seen protesters’ attacks on police stations and government buildings, fierce clashes with security forces, shootings at protester funerals, cut-offs of railroads, mass marches and a virtual outright revolt in the Suez Canal city of Port Said.—AP