Egypt detains alleged members of ‘Black Bloc’ anti-Mursi group

Alleged members of an Egyptian black-clad youth group, who stanchly oppose Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, have been detained and banned from travel by Egypt’s state security prosecution on Saturday.

Seven member of the ‘Black Bloc’ were detained on accusations that the group seeks destruction of the country, the state news agency MENA said. They have been detained for 15 days.

Hundreds of apparent supporters of the Black Bloc Egypt emerged in January in the forefront of anti-government protests in Cairo, Alexandria and the Suez Canal cities.

Little is known about the group whose first post on its Facebook page was dated Jan. 21 this year, but it has swiftly garnered over 20,000 online followers, according to Reuters news agency.

Its slogan is “chaos against injustice” and it says it has one enemy only – the Muslim Brotherhood group from which Mursi hails.

The group’s tactics appear to be inspired by Black Bloc protesters in Europe who, dressed in black and covering their faces, have formed a hardcore in anti-globalization protests.

In January, Public Prosecutor Talaat Abdallah ordered police, army officers and the public to arrest anyone suspected of being Black Bloc members and accused them of being an” organized group that participates in terrorist acts.” Last week, Abdallah ordered the arrest of 22 suspected group members.