EGYPT ARRESTS 147 BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS DURING FRIDAY RALLIES

    Cairo, 25 Shafar 1435/27  December 2013 (MINA) – Egyptian security forces arrested 147 Muslim Brotherhood members during Friday rallies staged by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

    Among them were 28 women, according to the statement, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

    Two demonstrators were reportedly killed during Friday’s rallies, according to eyewitnesses. However, no official statement has yet been released confirming the fatalities.

    One protester was reportedly killed in an attack by security forces on a pro-democracy rally in the city of Samanoud in the central Minya province, eyewitnesses said.

    A second demonstrator was reportedly killed in the northern city of New Damietta.

    The ministry statement said the protesters had been arrested for “rioting, blocking roads and assaulting citizens and policemen with firearms.”

     In the Giza province adjacent to Cairo, meanwhile, a number of police vehicles were set alight.

     Friday’s rallies come in response to calls by the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi’s main support bloc, for weeklong protests.

     On Wednesday, the military-backed government designated the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, as a “terrorist group.” The move came one day after a deadly bombing struck a security headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, killing 16 people, mostly policemen.

     For the last 183 days, pro-democracy protesters have staged daily rallies to denounce what they describe as the July 3 “military coup” against Morsi and demand his reinstatement. (T/P09/E1).

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).