Egyptian authorities accuse Muslim Brotherhood of blasting metro stations

The Egyptian ministry of interior has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating five hand-made explosions that went off in subway stations and outside a court in Cairo during Wednesday morning’s rush hour, wounding at least five.

Speaking to Turkish news agency Anadolu, Interior Ministry Spokesperson Hani Abdel-Latif said: “This is a desperate attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organisation to prove they still exist,” using the military regime’s post-coup terminology to describe the non-violent Islamist movement.

He added: “Security services captured a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the metro station of Shubra Al-Kaima while holding a bag with the remains of explosive powder, [in addition to] the slogans of Islamist groups [being] found in his mobile.”

Abdel-Latif described this as a “desperate attempt” to disrupt what he called the “prevailing state of stability” in the country.

However, the Muslim Brotherhood denied any involvement in the attacks. In a statement reported by Anadolu, the movement denounced the attackers, “whoever they are.”

The statement said: “The current authority is trying to spread a chaotic atmosphere in the country through certain ways that the security services in Egypt are famous for. They manipulate explosions in crowded places and accuse certain parties of orchestrating them.”

The Muslim Brotherhood reiterated that it would continue its “peaceful and non-violent” fight against the coup and its regime components. It added that the movement “will not be dragged into the violence that has been used systematically by the coup authorities”.

Since the military coup against freely elected President Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian military has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of acting violently against the people and state institutions, but without ever providing any solid evidence.

For its part, the Muslim Brotherhood has consistently denounced violence and reiterated several times its peaceful actions against the coup and it consequences.