Egypt’s President Sisi vows to defend Sinai against militants

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has vowed to defeat militants fighting against government forces in the troubled Sinai Peninsula.

On Saturday, Sisi promised that his government is ready to brace for a long fight to defeat extremists after a wave of attacks on security forces in the troubled region. The president said the fight will be long but Egyptian forces will not give the Sinai to the militants.

“We will never leave Sinai,” media outlets quoted Sisi as saying, adding, “Sinai is ours. Sinai will not separate from Egypt unless all of us are killed.”

The remarks come two days after at least 45 people were killed in militant attacks across the volatile Peninsula.

Egyptian security officials said over 80 others were injured after militants carried out attacks on army and police targets as well as an office of a daily newspaper in Sinai.

A state of emergency has been declared in the northern part of the peninsula since a militant attack on an Egyptian army checkpoint killed more than 30 soldiers in October 2014.

Sisi has claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood has a secret agenda for Egypt and it wants to spread ‘terrorism.’

“I’ve said it before and I will say it again, we are fighting the strongest secret organization of the last two centuries,” he noted.

Egypt has cracked down on Brotherhood supporters since Sisi toppled former president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013. The current president was the head of the armed forces at the time.

Sisi is accused of leading the suppression of Morsi’s supporters, as hundreds of them have been killed in clashes with Egyptian security forces over the past months.

JR/HSN/SS

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