Egypt has accused four staff of Turkey's state news agency Anadolu whom it arrested of spreading "false news" and working with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Police raided their Cairo office Tuesday and formally arrested them Wednesday at a time of rising tensions between the rival nations.

The interior ministry charged that the news bureau was a front for a "Turkish troll farm ... intent on broadcasting false news about the country's political, economic, security and rights situation".

It published the full names of those arrested - three Egyptian journalists and one Turkish citizen who handled the office's finances. The ministry said the employees were working "with the aim of distorting the image" of Egypt and said their cases had been referred to the prosecution.

Asked about the case at his daily press conference, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric stressed that the organization supports freedom of the press.