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Morsi flees palace

CAIRO — Egyptian police battled thousands of protesters outside President Mohammed Morsi’s palace in Cairo yesterday, prompting the Islamist leader to leave the building, two presidential sources said.

Police fired tear gas at demonstrators angered by Morsi’s drive to hold a referendum on a new constitution on Dec. 15. Some broke through police lines around his palace and protested next to the perimeter wall.

Several thousand people had gathered nearby in what they dubbed “last warning” protests against Morsi, who infuriated opponents with a Nov. 22 decree that expanded his powers.