Egypt's military rulers have cast doubt on their commitment to hand over to civilian rule by drastically increasing their own powers before a new president is named, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

The London-based rights group said a series of decrees by the ruling generals have also set the stage for serious human rights abuses, more than a year after a popular uprising ousted long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Early this month, the justice ministry allowed the military the power to arrest civilians, after the expiry of a decades-long state of emergency. 

The generals' relentless expansion of their authority to detain and try civilians now goes far beyond their powers under Hosni Mubarak," said Human Rights Watch Middle East director Joe Stork in a statement.