United States concerned by Egypt crackdown on Brotherhood

US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed concern on Thursday about the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in a phone call with his counterpart in Egypt Nabil Fahmy, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. Secretary Kerry expressed concern about the interim Egyptian government’s December 25 terrorist designation of the Muslim Brotherhood, and recent detentions and arrests, Jen Psaki said in a statement. The Egyptian government on Wednesday officially labeled the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group. The move came one day after at least 16 people were killed in a deadly bombing at a security headquarters in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura. The US top diplomat underscored the need for an inclusive political process across the political spectrum that respects the fundamental human rights of all Egyptians in order to achieve political stability and democratic change, she also said.

Psaki said that Kerry had also condemned the Mansoura bombing as well as Thursday’s bus bombing in Cairo during his call.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Egypt's toppled leader Mohamed Morsi to power, has been the target of an all-out crackdown with its members arrested and assets frozen since a July 4 military coup deposed the country's first elected president.