Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest in fron
Muslim Brotherhood supporters protest in fronAFP photo

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has once again called on supporters take to the streets on Friday to rally against the military coup in Egypt, despite police’s harsh crackdown on the movement.

As the Islamist group tries to move forward with plans of returning to elected rule, the interim government has arrested hundreds of its members and killed more than 1,000 supporters.

Most recently, Egyptian police captured senior Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed El-Beltagi on Thursday as the crackdown continues to lock up supporters of the ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

One leader, that has yet to be arrested, Essam El-Erian, called for protests against what he described as “the bloody, brutal, fascist military coup that has hijacked people’s will and halted the path of democracy.”

“We will continue the fight, jihad and struggle in a peaceful protest,” El-Erian told Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr, the local Al Jazeera station. The “so-called war on terrorism is staged” by the current government to justify the crackdown on the Brotherhood, he said.

The administration has threatened Muslim Brotherhood to use live fire if protests turn violent, as they have in the past. Police will respond with “utmost firmness” to subdue riots or attacks on public, security or religious installations.

The crackdown on the Brotherhood has severely impacted their ability to round up supporters on the street. Last Friday, only several thousand people heeded their call for marches in Cairo.