Egyptian security forces have detained Muslim Brotherhood leading member Mohsen Abu Zaid amid heightened crackdown on the movement.

On Thursday, the security forces raided Abu Zaid’s house and arrested him in the city of Beni Suef.

He was arrested on charges of organizing Brotherhood protests around the North African country.

A large number of Brotherhood’s officials and supporters have been held in custody by the military and police forces since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in early July.

Egypt’s army-backed government has accused the Brotherhood of seeking to destabilize Egypt.

In September, an Egyptian court banned the movement from operating as a non-governmental organization (NGO) and ordered all their assets confiscated.

The decades-old movement formed a political party in 2011, months after the fall of former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since July 3, when the army ousted Morsi’s government, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the parliament. It also appointed the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmoud Mansour, as the new interim president.

About 1,000 people were killed in a week of violence between Morsi supporters and security forces after police dispersed their protest camps in a deadly operation on August 14.

The massacre sparked international condemnation and prompted world bodies to call for an independent investigation into the violence.