Egypt Will Hunt Down Muslim Brotherhood Leaders

Egypt will hunt down exiled Muslim Brotherhood leaders and seek their arrest, a top official said Sunday, after Qatar ordered them to leave its territory despite initially hosting group members following the ouster of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year.

The tiny Gulf nation's expulsion of the Brotherhood, branded a terrorist organization by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, signals it is moving to mend a diplomatic rift triggered by its support of the group. Analysts described the move as a political victory for Egypt's current leadership.

Egyptian Minister of Interior Mohammed Ibrahim said that Qatari authorities gave Brotherhood leaders one month to leave the country, and reporters for the Doha-based Al-Jazeera Egypt channel two months to leave. It was not immediately possible to confirm the ultimatum with Qatari officials, who rarely comment on the issue.

A number of the group's senior members and allied clerics had already said Saturday that they would leave "to avoid embarrassing" Qatar, which suffered severely strained relations with Egypt and other Gulf countries for hosting the Brotherhood.

A Brotherhood member in Qatar, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of concerns for his safety, said the Qataris conveyed to them that they were under constant pressure led by Egypt to serve Egyptian arrest warrants for the Islamists. He said he will travel to Malaysia while other members will be travelling to Britain or Turkey.

He added that the group had started discussing the possibility of leaving Qatar after Egypt's former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ascended to the presidency. El-Sissi led Morsi's ouster after millions of protesters rallied to demand his resignation last summer.

Officials and observers say that Qatar had resisted Gulf pressures to move against the Brotherhood until its ruling emir met with top Saudi officials.

Egyptian security and military officials say Qatar agreed to "gradually" expel the group's members and allies. They said that up to 120 people could leave as part of the agreement, including some facing charges of inciting violence in Egypt.

The officials also said that broadcaster Al-Jazeera would tone down its criticism of Egypt as part of the deal. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Egypt has accused Al-Jazeera and its affiliates of serving as a Brotherhood mouthpiece in its campaign against the Egyptian government, an allegation the network has repeatedly denied. Its Egyptian branch, Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr, however devotes nearly its entire broadcast to cover near-daily, scattered demonstrations by Morsi's supporters.

Live programs often host Brotherhood spokesmen and allied Islamists who along with the group's members fled Egypt after security forces unleashed a sweeping crackdown on Morsi's supporters, killing hundreds in street clashes and jailing thousands.

"Qatar thought it is better to end its isolation from the Gulf countries and not to remain in one corner with the Muslim Brotherhood," said Anwar Ashki, a Saudi political expert. It eventually became an "embarrassment" for Qatar to host the group, he added.