Egypt's pro-Morsi bloc calls for uprising to mark Rabaa day

The main support bloc of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has called for a "revolutionary wave" on Thursday to mark the passage of one year since the violent dispersal of pro-democracy sit-ins in Cairo that left hundreds dead and thousands injured.

In a Monday statement, the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy said that the planned activities – to be held under the banner "We demand retribution" – will set out from "all revolutionary mosques and safe points."

The alliance went on to warn the authorities against taking "any criminal decision that targets Egyptians," calling for the prosecution of "coup leaders" for what it described as "genocide crimes."

Hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured when security forces violently cleared two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square and Giza's Nahda Square.

The dispersals – especially that of Rabaa Square – have continued to linger in the country's collective memory, with Human Rights Watch describing the bloody episode as the "worst unlawful mass killing in the country's modern history."

Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, was ousted by the army last year – and later imprisoned on a raft of criminal charges – following demonstrations against his presidency.

While Morsi's supporters describe his ouster as a "military coup," his opponents claim it was an "army-backed popular revolution."