Egypt arrests Salafist leaders over protest call

Egyptian security forces have arrested five Salafist leaders after their hardline Islamist group called for a protest against the army later this week, authorities said on Monday, according to Agence France-Presse.

“Five elements of a terrorist group have been arrested at home in Madinat Nasr,” a suburb in northeastern Cairo, the interior ministry said on its Facebook page.

They were “leaders of sedition and planned acts of sedition, anarchy and violence on Friday,” the day of their intended protest, the statement added.

The Salafi Front group confirmed on its Facebook page that five of its leaders had been arrested, but kept up its call for a protest.

The group has been calling people to take to the streets to mark the third anniversary of protests against the army and security forces in which around 40 people were killed over several days.

The purpose of the demonstration was to “proclaim the Islamic identity of Egypt, to oppose the Western and Zionist domination and overthrow the military regime,” the Front said.

On Monday, the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood threw its weight behind the planned demonstration but refused to say whether or not it would take part.