Police arrest 42 MB members in Fayoum raid

Egyptian news agencies reported that 42 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested in Fayoum on Friday during a security sweep, as confirmed by Brotherhood sources on Saturday.

A small cache of weapons was allegedly confiscated during the course of the operation.

According to the state-owned Middle East News Agency, the 42 Brotherhood members were wanted on charges relating to terrorism.

The operation took place in the town of Etsa in Fayoum governorate, over 150 kilometers southwest of Cairo, involving local police forces in coordination with Central Security Forces and National Security.

The privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported that the Brotherhood-led “National Alliance to Support Legitimacy” confirmed the arrests, but alleged that 43 members were rounded up during protests and raids on homes conducted Friday.

Member of the alliance, Hamdy Abdel Aal said the raid came as a surprise, but that several Brotherhood members were able to flee their homes in time.

On Saturday, the privately owned ONA News Agency reported that police forces discovered and confiscated an automatic rifle, two shotguns, shotgun shells, knives and other handheld weapons during the raid.

It is not clear whether the weapons were found in possession of the arrested Brotherhood members or four “criminal elements,” who ONA reported were arrested simultaneously, and were wanted for alleged drug-dealing, possession of drugs, possession of weapons, and traffic violations.