Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egyptian opposition sources said the regime of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi
has appointed members of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood as security chiefs.

They said the Brotherhood members were named to senior positions in the
Interior Ministry as well as the intelligence and security command.

“The Brotherhood has taken over the Interior Ministry and much of the
security command, starting from the appointment of the minister,” a source who has been tracking the Morsi regime said.

The sources said the Brotherhood has directed security forces in their
crackdown on Morsi opponents in 2013. They said the new security command has been working closely with the Brotherhood’s new militia, which attacked and abducted protesters.

Other Brotherhood members have been appointed governor of Egyptian
provinces marked by unrest. The sources cited Adel Qatamesh, vice governor of the North Sinai province, which has faced a Bedouin revolt believed linked to Al Qaida. Qatamesh, a Brotherhood member, has supported a plan to form an Islamist Bedouin militia in Sinai.

“This won’t be a random armament,” Qatamesh said. “Those who are armed will be part of the military, but have the incentive of local knowledge.”

The sources said the new Islamists chiefs have encountered simmering
hostility from thousands of police officers. In February, thousands of
police conscripts launched a strike to protest salaries, conditions and
orders to guard Brotherhood facilities.

In March, police officers went on strikes in several areas of the
peninsula in protest of inadequate equipment. On March 6, an estimated 8,000
police and Central Security Forces personnel walked off the job in Sinai and
around the Suez Canal.

“Morale in the Central Security Forces has plunged to the point where
troops can no longer be relied upon to defend the regime,” the source said.

  Adel Qatamesh, Central Security Forces, Interior Ministry, Mohammed Morsi, Opposition: Morsi appointing Brotherhood members to key security positions