CAIRO
Security forces have rounded up 19 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in fresh security sweeps, bringing the total number of group members detained over the past week to 200, according to Egypt’s Interior Ministry.
In a statement released Sunday, the ministry announced that 19 Brotherhood members had been detained within the past 24 hours alone for committing and inciting “acts of violence”.
The latest rash of arrests brings to 200 the total number of group members detained within the past week on violence-related charges.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which ousted President Mohamed Morsi hails, was branded a “terrorist organization” by the Egyptian authorities in late 2013.
The Brotherhood, for its part, insists it is committed to purely peaceful modes of activism.
Egypt has been dogged by turmoil since the military overthrew Morsi – the country's first freely elected president and a Brotherhood leader – in mid-2013.
In the more than two years since, the Egyptian authorities have waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent, killing hundreds and detaining tens of thousands.
