Egypt Brotherhood Vows ‘Resistance’ After Terror Label

The Muslim Brotherhood vowed to press ahead with “peaceful resistance” after the government classified it as a terror organization, a move that signaled its crackdown against the group may escalate.

The government applied the designation yesterday after blaming the group for a Dec. 24 bombing at a Nile Delta security headquarters that left 16 dead. Not even Hosni Mubarak, who clamped down on the Brotherhood during his three-decade rule, attached the “terrorist” label to the movement, which fielded ousted President Mohamed Morsi for office and wants him reinstated.

“The leaders of the bloody military coup think” that “their new terrorist plot will rescue them from retribution, gallows and popular anger,” the main pro-Morsi alliance, which includes the Brotherhood, said in a statement. The Anti-Coup Alliance pledged to continue “creative peaceful resistance, no matter what the sacrifices may be.”

The Brotherhood has condemned the explosion at the security facility in Mansoura and the military-backed government offered no evidence implicating the group in the bombing.

Security forces have cracked down on the group since the military removed Morsi from office July 3 following mass protests against him, arresting and prosecuting many of its leaders and killing hundreds of supporters. Assaults on security personnel have intensified since the ouster, especially in the restive Sinai Peninsula where the military is battling militants.

Source: Bloomberg