Muslim Brotherhood sources said that Qatar has asked seven senior leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood to leave the country within a week. A leader of the Freedom and Justice party told Anadolu news agency the group responded to the request.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the people to be expelled are: the Secretary General of the Brotherhood, Mahmoud Hussein, member of Freedom and Justice party Amro Darraj, Hamza Zoba, Ashraf Badriddin, Jamal Abdul-Sattar and the renowned preachers Isam Talima and Wajdi Ghoneem.

According to the source, the Qatari decision was surprising and he expected more leaders to be asked to leave in the future.

Meanwhile, Darraj said in a statement: "We thank Qatar for its support for the Egyptian people in their revolution against the coup and we understand very well the circumstances the region is experiencing."

The statement, which Anadolu obtained a copy of, added: "We found respect and love in Qatar. Symbols and leaders of the party agreed to leave... we stress we will continue working for the completion of the Egyptian revolution."

Goneem also affirmed that he is leaving Qatar. In a video he broadcast on YouTube, he said: "I decided to leave the beloved Qatar in order not to cause embarrassment or problems."

He thanked Qatar and its Emir and did not say where he was going.