Egypt’s Head of Armed Forces calls for protests in support of fight against terrorism

Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, Egypt'a Head of
Armed Forces

Amid violent clashes erupting during the demonstrations in Cairo and other Egyptian governorates and the daily violent attacks committed by the militants in Sinai Peninsula Egypt’s Defense Minister and Head of the Armed Forces Abdel Fattah El-Sissi has called Egyptians to hold the nationwide protests on Friday, 25 July, in order to support the military’s fight against the terrorism in the country.

Abdel Fattah El-Sissi has made this statement during his official speech in Alexandria just a few hours after the national reconciliation dialogue led by the interim President Adly Mansour and attended by several political forces and representatives of different social factions of Egypt’s society. Muslim Brotherhood has also received an official invitation which was rejected by the group as they see the current government as “illegitimate” and “supporting the military coup against Mohamed Morsy”, whom they see as the only one legitimate President and demand his reinstatement.

General Abdel Fattah El-Sissi has called for Egyptian citizens to take to the main streets and squared of Cairo and other cities of Egypt on Friday to participate in the nationwide protests in attempt to mandate Egypt’s Armed Forces to start the “war against violence and terrorism” which sparked in the country since Mohamed Morsy has been removed from his Presidential position by the military decree.

But this call doesn’t mean that El-Sissi and army are advocating for the violence or going to target specific groups of society in the country, stressed the official spokesperson of Egypt’s Armed Forces Ahmed Ali. These protests should be the part and the framework of the transitional period including also the reconciliation talks which started on Wednesday.

Egypt's army forces in Cairo

El-Sissi also stated in his speech that he calls for all the political powers of Egypt to participate in the reconciliation process and called for the people of the country to support the initiative of the military to fight the violence and terrorism.

It’s worth mentioning that the series of violent clashes have erupted in Egypt’s capital Cairo and in other governorates of Egypt as well since the Islamist backed President Mohamed Morsy was ousted by the military decree on 3 July following the mass protests against his rule in Egypt. The clashes took tens of lives and left hundreds of injured all over Egypt.

The clashes between Morsy supporters and his opponents and also with the local residents have taken place on Monday, 22 July, in Cairo and some other cities leaving several dead and dozens of injured people. The daily attacks on the army and security checkpoints in Sinai became the everyday reality for Egypt since the ouster of Mohamed Morsy as the armed militant groups target the army and police personnel on the Peninsula. The bomb explosion in Egypt’s Nile Delta city of Mansoura left on Tuesday several injured as well.

Thus amid the ongoing clashes, often violent, and the political instability and deepening divisions in the Egyptian society Abdel Fattah El-Sissi urges Egyptians to hold the mass rallies on Friday to show their support of the military initiative to fight the violence and terrorism in the country in order to restore the security and grant the peaceful transitional period.