Egyptian authorities have detained President Mohamed Morsi for 15 days over an array of accusations, including killing soldiers and conspiring with the Palestinian group Hamas, the state news agency said on Friday.
The report came just hours before millions of Egyptians were expected to take to the streets in mass rallies for and against Egypt's first freely elected leader, who was ousted by the military on July 3.
Both sides in Egypt warned of a decisive struggle for the future of the Arab world's most populous country, convulsed by political and economic turmoil since the 2011 uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak.
Army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called Egyptians into the streets to give the military a "mandate" to confront weeks of violence unleashed by his July 3 overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
A military official said the army had given Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood a Saturday deadline to end its resistance and join a military-set road map to fresh elections, signaling a turning point in the confrontation. The Brotherhood also dismissed as "ridiculous" accusations leveled by the authorities on Friday against deposed President Mohamed Morsi that included killing soldiers and conspiring with the Palestinian group Hamas. "They are not taken seriously at all. We are continuing our protests on the streets. In fact we believe that more people will realize what this regime really represents - a return of the old state of Mubarak, with brute force," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said.
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The U.N. chief said Egyptian authorities should free ousted leader Morsi and other members of the Muslim Brotherhood or "have their cases reviewed transparently without delay."
With both sides of Egypt's civil struggle calling for huge rallies Friday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he "urges all sides to act with maximum restraint."
In a statement Thursday, Ban urged "the interim authorities to end arbitrary arrests and other reported forms of harassment." This comes as the United Nations Human Rights Office called for Egyptian security forces to refrain from using excessive force against supporters or opponents of the deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. Rupert Colville from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said his organizations was "alarmed" by recent declarations from the Egyptian army and that it was "the duty of security forces to protect all citizens whatever their political views." He added that the security forces should "recognize the right to peaceful protests by all parties who wish to protest peacefully."
On the field: Two Egyptians were killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Egypt's second biggest city of Alexandria, Egypt's MENA news agency reported. It said 19 others were injured in clashes that erupted after thousands took to the streets in response to a call by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for a popular mandate to tackle violence unleashed since the ouster of Morsi on July 3. That triggered calls for pro-Morsi rallies. REUTERS/AP