Interior minister blames MB for ongoing violence, defends security forces

In a televised statement on Sunday, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for ongoing violence in Egypt, indirectly implicating the Islamist group in the recent death of a journalist and accusing them of sharing sensitive documents concerning national security.

Ibrahim said that Egypt is facing a terrorism plot by the international leaders of the Brotherhood that aims to undermine what he referred to as the June 30 revolution.

The minister claimed investigations have revealed that Amin Abdel Hamid al-Serafy, secretariat to ousted President Mohamed Morsy, smuggled important documents and files related to national security from the presidential office to the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in order to share them with another Arab country, thus weakening the stability and the security of Egypt.

Answering a question about Mayada Ashraf, a journalist from privately owned Al-Dostour newspaper who died in clashes on Friday, Ibrahim said that the deceased journalist's last update was that the Muslim Brotherhood was randomly shooting. He added that Ashraf was kidnapped previously by the Brotherhood and was released by the police. The minister called upon all journalists to be careful, follow safety measures, and not to put themselves in dangerous situations.

Regarding ongoing violence in Ain Shams, Ibrahim defended security forces, blaming the narrow streets and poor design of the neighborhood, which he said makes it hard for police forces to locate assailants.

Ibrahim also mentioned that several members of Ansar al-Sharia have been arrested, and that the Sinai-based Islamist group has executed 14 operations against military and police forces in recent months.