Egypt 'to dissolve Muslim Brotherhood'

Egypt's government has decided to press ahead with the legal dissolution of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media report.

A spokesman for the social solidarity ministry said it would revoke the Islamist movement's non-governmental organisation status "within days".

The Brotherhood had failed to respond to allegations of forming militia and illegal activities, he added.

The military authorities have launched a crackdown on the group since ousting President Mohammed Morsi on 3 July.

Dozens of senior figures, including its general guide Mohammed Badie, have been detained over allegations of inciting violence and murder.

Hundreds of people demanding Mr Morsi's reinstatement, most of them Brotherhood members, have also been killed in clashes with security forces, who portray the crackdown as a struggle against "terrorism".

The 85-year-old Islamist movement was banned by Egypt's military rulers in 1954, but registered itself as an NGO in March in response to a court case bought by opponents who contested its legal status.

The Brotherhood also has a legally registered political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, which was set up in June 2011 as a "non-theocratic" group after the uprising that forced President Hosni Mubarak from power.

Source: BBC