Egypt’s Minster of Interior said on Wednesday that police will “confront attempts by Muslim Brotherhood members to harm the country’s national security during the 9th anniversary of the January 25, 2011 revolution on Saturday, calling on the Egyptian people not to respond to what it said were “calls for incitement, rumors, and fake news.”
The ministry said that the National Security Sector had “monitored the preparation of the Muslim Brotherhood organization’s leaders in Turkey for a plan to undermine security and stability, spread chaos in Egypt, and destroy (the country’s) economic gains during the anniversary of January 25,” adding that the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the state since 2013, had assigned “Muslim Brotherhood elements to carry out the plan through several steps,” including the creation of facebook pages under the name of “al-Harka al-Shabya” and “Joker” involved in publishing “fabricated” news, “inciting chaos,” and calling for the fall of state institutions.
According to the Ministry, secret Muslim Brotherhood elements communicate through the “Telegram” app and assign tasks to their followers, including starting riots, cutting off roads, disrupting traffic, and implementing “sabotage operations” against the state.
According to the ministry’s statement, the National Security Sector’s officers have managed to identify the electronic groups preparing for protests and planning to “sabotage” state facilities, arresting several individuals allegedly in possession of primitive gas masks, knives, tugs to throw stones, and quantities of screws to throw on the ground and stop cars.
Police also seized small drones, computers, cameras, and mobile phones containing applications for connecting with Satellite TV channels and web pages allegedly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Authorities have led a crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters since former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in July 2013. Egypt listed the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization that same year and insists that the group is behind the wave of militancy that has targeted security personnel.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
