CAIRO: Egyptian security forces arrested 14 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in dawn raids at their homes on Thursday, a judicial official told AFP.

The men, members of Egypt s main opposition group, were seized at their homes in Cairo and in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

They have been ordered detained for 15 days on charges of belonging to a banned group, calling for demonstrations and possessing documents seeking to spread the (Brotherhood) ideology, the official said.

The organization’s deputy leader, Mohamed Habib, accused the government in a statement of seeking to prevent the Brotherhood from having a role in Egyptian political life.

The Brotherhood, founded in 1928, was officially banned in 1954 but is relatively tolerated. Using sympathizers running as independents, the group won one-fifth of seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections. -AFP