Egyptian security forces have arrested 10 members of theMuslim Brotherhood, intensifying a crackdown ahead of a referendum due in Aprilon constitutional amendments the group deeply opposes.  

Security sources said the arrested men were detained in dawnraids on Thursday in the Nile Delta, where the Brotherhood has strong support. 

Those arrested included several doctors, teachers andan engineer. 

The Brotherhood, which rejects violence, is the strongestopposition force in Egypt. 

Brotherhood members running as independents to circumvent aban on the group won nearly a fifth of the 454-seat lower house of parliamentin 2005.  

Analysts say the government fears that unless itstops the Brotherhood now, the group will make more electoral gains that couldhelp it eventually mount a serious challenge to Hosni Mubarak's rulingNational Democratic Party.

"It is all because of the constitutionalamendments," a Brotherhood spokesman said about the fresh arrests.

The constitutional amendments would weaken the role ofjudges in monitoring elections. An anti-terrorism clause would give policesweeping powers of arrest and broad authority to monitor private communications.

The proposed laws would also ban political activity based onreligion, quashing Brotherhood hopes of acquiring legal standing as arecognised political party.

The Brotherhood believes the proposed amendments, whichparliament is expected to pass shortly, aim to block the group from mainstreamnational politics. The Brotherhood operates openly in Egyptdespite being officially banned.

Thursday's arrests followed sweeps earlier in the week thatnetted 18 Brotherhood members including Mahmoud Ghozlan, a senior leader and amember of the group's executive Guidance Council. 

 More than 300 Brotherhood members are now in detention,including third-in-command Khairat el-Shatir, who was referred last month to amilitary trial along with 39 others on charges including money laundering andterrorism. 

Source:Agencies