Egypt has extended its state of emergency throughout the country for another three months, Prime Minister Mustafa Kemal Madbouli announced on Sunday.
By Mohamed Fayed
“In view of the internal and regional circumstances Egypt is currently experiencing, the Cabinet has decided to approve the declaration of a state of emergency throughout the country for a period of three months, starting Monday, October 26, 2020,” he said in an address to the Egyptian parliament.
He stressed that the government renews its commitment not to use the exceptional measures, except insofar as this ensures a balance between the protection of public freedoms and the need for national security.
Since the army’s removal of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Egyptian authorities have faced several violent extremist groups, particularly in the northeastern Sinai Peninsula, where the EI has been active for several years.
In February 2018 the Egyptian army and police launched a major “counterterrorism” operation in the region and parts of the Western Desert between the Nile Valley and the border with Libya.
HA/lb/as/APA