Ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is not being detained because there is no court order against him, army spokesperson Ahmed Ali told Al-Arabiya satellite channel on Tuesday.

The army has been protecting him amid widespread instability, Ali added.

Morsi has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since the military, led by army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, deposed him on 3 July amid nationwide protests against his rule.

Ali accused some of the former president's supporters of inciting attacks against military facilities. "Armed protests close to any military or strategic unit or facility won't be tolerated," he said.

Ali also said that a campaign of rumours and false claims had been made in an attempt to distort the image of the Armed Forces and sow discord within the ranks.

"The Armed Forces carried out its national duty by responding to the peoples' demands [to remove Morsi]... the Armed Forces is constitutionally obliged to respond to those demands. This was a great revolution," he concluded.

In recent days, Egyptian prosecutors have ordered the arrest of many Muslim Brotherhood leaders on various charges, including inciting violence against anti-Brotherhood protesters and the army.

Last week, the army shot dead over 50 supporters of the former president at the Republican Guard headquarters who they accused of attacking the building.

The president's supporters have been protesting daily against what they describe as a "coup" against a legitimate, democratically-elected president. Meanwhile, backers of the military intervention say it is a continuation of the January 25 Revolution.