A protester, opposing Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi, sits next to graffiti depicting Morsi on a wall of the Presidential Palace (Reuters0
A protester, opposing Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi, sits next to graffiti depicting Morsi on a wall of the Presidential Palace (Reuters0

Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is being held by the military in preventive custody "for final preparations", according to military sources and a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman.

Ahmed Aref, speaking on behalf of the Brotherhood, subsequently said that Morsi is being held along with his former spokesman Gehad al-Haddad, but he does not know where the two men have been taken.

Earlier al-Haddad told reporters that Morsi, who was deposed by the Egyptian army after four days of sustained mass protests in the streets, had been taken to the defence ministry.

A group of the ex-president's aides have been held at the Republican guard barracks, where Morsi spent his final day in office defying calls for him to resign.

AFP reported that Morsi is being held "preventively for final preparations" hinting that the military wants to put him on trial.

At least 14 people were killed and hundreds wounded in street violence overnight. It has been reported that 300 arrest warrants have been issued for Brotherhood members.

According to the New York Times, Egyptian security forces had arrested at least 38 senior leaders of the Islamist movement, including Saad el-Katatni, the head of its political party

Morsi's removal was announced by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a broadcast alongside leaders of several religious groups and opposition parties. He announced the suspension of the constitution and installation of a new interim government led by Adli Mansour, the top judge of Egypt's constitutional court.

The Muslim Brotherhood has expressed its "horror" at what it called a "new era of repression and tyranny".