CAIRO
Egyptian security forces on Wednesday arrested 39 supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, including one of his relatives and six minors, according to security officials and sources from Morsi's main support group.
In the early hours of Wednesday, security forces launched a fresh arrest campaign against members and supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in five different Egyptian provinces.
Security forces arrested 11 Brotherhood supporters in a dawn raid on their homes in the Nile Delta's Sharqiya province, Morsi's home province, sources from the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi's main support bloc, told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
Among those arrested were the father of Morsi's daughter-in-law who is also the local head of the teachers syndicate in Sharqiya.
In the Giza province west of Cairo, security forces raided the homes of over 20 Brotherhood members and arrested five of them, the sources said.
In the northwestern Suez province, meanwhile, a security source told AA that four Brotherhood members had been arrested from their homes at dawn Wednesday on charges of "inciting violence."
Dawn raids were also carried out in the Upper Egyptian Minya province, where a security source confirmed to AA that 13 Brotherhood supporters had been arrested from their homes in the city of Beni Mazar on charges of attacking police stations and "demonstrating against security forces."
The Interior Ministry has yet to issue a comment on Wednesday's incidents.
Egypt's military-backed authorities have launched a massive crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since last July's ouster of elected president Morsi.
Thousands of Brotherhood leaders and members have since been arrested on incitement-to-violence charges – allegations the group insists are politically motivated.
Last December, the interim government designated the Brotherhood as a "terrorist" group following the bombing of a Nile Delta security headquarters.
The Brotherhood denied any involvement in the December attack, which it condemned as an act of terrorism.
By Islam Mosaad
englishnews@aa.com.tr
