EGYPT POLICE ARREST 477 BROTHERHOOD MEMBERS IN 12 DAYS

Kairo, 7 Rabi’ul Awwal 1436/29 December 2014 (MINA) – Egyptian security forces have detained 477 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in security swoops in the past 12 days, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.

“Some 477 members of the ‘terrorist’ Muslim Brotherhood group and rioters have been arrested in various provinces,” the ministry said in a statement. Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Monday.

According to the statement, 2,013 firearms and 12 workshops for manufacturing weapons had been seized during the raids. The statement said that 15 gangs of arms traffickers had also been detained.

Since last year’s ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s military-backed government has waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent largely targeting Morsi supporters which has seen hundreds killed and thousands detained.

Last year, Egyptian authorities designated the decades-old Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, a “terrorist” organisation, blaming it for a spate of deadly attacks on security officials in the country.

The Brotherhood denies the allegations, saying that it is committed to peaceful activism. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)