(Photo Presidency Handout)
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with military commanders in North Sinai Saturday in his role as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, wearing military uniform. Al-Sisi’s visit comes in the aftermath of Wednesday’s massive attack on security forces in the North Sinai city of Sheikh Zuweid.
“I have worn my military uniform in respect and appreciation for the Armed Forces’ efforts,” Al-Sisi stated in a televised speech on Saturday afternoon.
The presidential office reported that Al-Sisi conducted encounters in operations centres with military men and civil police forces, aimed at boosting morale and praising their role in confronting the threats Egypt faces.
This is the first visit of its kind, which Al-Sisi mentioned “should have happened a long time ago”. He publicly apologised during his speech to the audience, which featured military personnel in Sinai.
The attacks, claimed by Sinai-based militant group “State of Sinai”, sparked public outrage as they came shortly after the assassination of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat on 29 June.
Angry reactions erupted after the Sinai attacks, as the public expected the announcement of a state of mourning, which occurred following Barakat’s death, in addition to a speech by Al-Sisi. The operation was reported to be one of the largest in the restive Sinai Peninsula.
In his speech, Al-Sisi described the recent attack as “organised”, yet said that it was not alarming for the Armed Forces who also successfully planned counter attacks. “The army is operating with only 1% of its capacity in North Sinai,” he stated.
Al-Sisi usually gives public speeches after such incidents, which have been repeated throughout the past couple of years. Previously, to counter terrorism actions in the area, was Al-Sisi’s decision to form a new joint military command to fight terrorism east of the Suez Canal, and military reshuffles.
A large-scale insurgency in North Sinai peaked in October 2014 in Sheikh Zuweid and in January 2015 in Al-Arish.
At least 30 soldiers were killed in various coordinated attacks on security forces on 29 January. The attacks were claimed by “State of Sinai”, which reported much higher death tolls in the camps of the Egyptian army.
In October, over 25 soldiers were killed in a sophisticated planned attack, with multiple vehicles and heavy weaponry, also claimed by “State of Sinai”. At the time, Al-Sisi declared a state of emergency in those cities, with strict curfew hours that have been reinforced up to the current day.
According to Al-Sisi, no power can stand in the way of the people’s will to get rid of religious fascism.
