Order to freeze Brotherhood leaders' assets Egyptian clerics end their protest in support of Mohammed Mursi at al-Azhar mosque on Sunday. Egypt's public prosecutor has ordered the freezing of assets belonging to 14 top Islamists, as the US sent its first senior official to Cairo since president Mohammed Mursi's overthrow and the Muslim Brotherhood urged its supporters to gather for a mass protest in Cairo. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns is on a three-day visit to the region, the US State Department saying he would "underscore US support for the Egyptian people." The Obama administration has still not decided whether Dr Mursi was the victim of a coup, which would legally require a freeze on $US1.5 billion ($1.66 billion) in vital military and economic US assistance to Cairo. However, it has demanded Dr Mursi's release and condemned the wave of arrests of Brotherhood members. "What's taking place in Egypt's political scene is a farce that must and will come to an end," said Hamza Zawba, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party. Egyptians will take to the streets of Cairo to defend their legitimate president. Mursi supporters and opponents clashed in the Nile delta town of Mahalla al-Kubra on the weekend, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported. Dr Mursi was toppled in a military coup on July 3. Army chief Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi defended the military's action, saying it was "in the service of the people." "If circumstances forced the armed forces to approach the political process, it did so because the people summoned it for that mission," General Sisi said at a meeting with armed forces officers. The Brotherhood has refused to join the new government headed by caretaker prime minister Hazem al-Beblawi, who is pushing ahead with forming his cabinet. The ultra-conservative Islamist Nour Party, which had initially supported the coup, confirmed it would not take part in the interim government either, citing the closure of Islamist satellite channels and the crackdown on Islamists. "The current road map failed to unite different political groups and has increased polarisation," said the party's assistant secretary-general, Shaaban Abdel Alim. Our participation was meant to appease a divided street. With the bloodshed and polarisation, there's no point to take part in cabinet talks now. The asset freeze is part of an investigation ordered by public prosecutor Hisham Barakat, which affects nine Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including the group's "guide," Mohammed Badie, and five Islamists from other groups including the formerly militant Gamaa Islamiya, judicial sources said. It relates to four deadly incidents since Dr Mursi's overthrow, including clashes in Cairo just over a week ago in which dozens died. In comments to al-Jazeera television's channel in Egypt, Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian said the military must disclose Dr Mursi's whereabouts and allow him visits by his family, lawyers and rights groups. Detaining Dr Mursi was an attempt to "isolate the president from the people," Mr Erian said.