As clashes between pro and anti-government protesters intensify, President Mohammed Mursi has publicly asserted he will not step down as the Egypt’s president.

In a television broadcast, he rejected the 48-hour ultimatum given by the army to resolve the crisis and “heed the will of the people”. If Mursi refuses to meet the deadline, which expires on 3 July in Cairo, the army has warned it will carry out its own “roadmap” to govern Egypt’s future.

The army has insisted that it is not staging a military coup and does not want to rule Egypt.

Little is known about what the roadmap includes, but it is thought to outline plans for the possible dissolution of parliament and the creation of a new constitution.

If the constitution is dissolved, it would return Egypt back to the same scenario it faced in February 2011 after the overthrowing of previous president Hosni Mubarak.

The unrest in Cairo and other Egyptian cities has worsened since the protests began on 30 June. Hundreds of protesters have been injured and 16 people were killed during the night of 2 July.

The protests began on 30 June and are part of a grassroots protest movement known as Tamarod or Rebel. The group has been calling for Egyptians to sign a petition calling for Mursi to step down from power. It has reportedly collected 22 million signatures.