Egypt on Wednesday ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader Mohammed Badie over violence in Cairo that left dozens dead while charging
another 200 people over the bloodshed, judicial sources said.
Badie and other senior Brotherhood leaders are wanted for allegedly inciting the clashes outside the Republican Guard headquarters at dawn on Monday where supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi were calling for him to be reinstated.
Morsi is currently being held in a “safe place, for his safety,” foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty told reporters on Wednesday, adding: “He is not charged with anything up till now,” he said. His overthrow by the military a week ago, after massive protests calling for his resignation, has pushed Egypt into a vortex of violence that has claimed at least 88 lives, according to Amnesty International.
On Monday, in the worst incident, the Brotherhood claims police and troops “massacred” 42 of their supporters as they performed dawn prayers, with women and children among the dead.
The army said it came under attack by “terrorists”.
The public prosecutor on Wednesday charged 200 people held over the bloodshed outside the military barracks, the judicial sources said.
The charges and arrest orders came as interim authorities were to start talks on forming a caretaker cabinet headed by new prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi.
-With The Independent input
