Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

US general meets Egypt’s Sisi in push for aid to Gaza

THE top U.S. general overseeing American troops in the Middle East made an unannounced trip to Egypt for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that focused on the Israel-Hamas war and how to get aid to the Gaza Strip. Egypt's Sinai peninsula adjoins the Gaza Strip and its Rafah border crossing is the sole route for aid to enter Gaza directly from outside Israel. It is also the only exit that does not lead to Israeli territory. More than 100 trucks were waiting close to the crossing on the Egyptian side on Thursday, though it was not expected that aid would…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt to begin vaccinations today

COVID-19

EGYPT will begin coronavirus vaccinations on Sunday, beginning with medical staff, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in recorded comments on Saturday. On Friday, Egypt recorded 748 new cases and 52 deaths. However, health officials say the real number is likely far higher because of the relatively low rate of coronavirus testing and the exclusion of private test results. Egypt received its first shipment of vaccines developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in December. Egypt will get 40 million vials via the GAVI vaccine alliance for 20 million people, or 20% of the 100 million population, its health minister said last…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s Sisi approves restrictions on retired army officers standing for election

NEWS

EGYPTIAN President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has approved legal amendments that restrict retired army officers from running in elections without permission from the military, according to an announcement in the official gazette on Wednesday. Critics of Sisi, a former army chief who was re-elected for a second term in 2018, say the amendments, passed by parliament this month, aim to curb any opposition from prominent former army generals. The government denies this. The amendments bolster the role of the army by allowing it to offer an opinion on proposed constitutional amendments and bills related to political rights, elections and national security, according…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s Sisi wins parliamentary approval for possible Libya intervention

NEWS

MAHMOUD MOURAD and NADINE AWADALLA EGYPT'S parliament gave President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi the green light for possible military intervention in Libya by approving the deployment of armed forces abroad to fight "terrorist groups" and "militias". A sharp military escalation in Libya, where fighters led by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar have been battling the forces of the internationally recognised government, could risk igniting a direct conflict among the foreign powers that have poured in weapons and fighters in violation of an arms embargo. Khalifa Haftar Sisi warned last week that Egypt would not stand idle if there was a threat to national…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Sisi says Egypt won’t stand idle in Libya if security is threatened

NEWS

MAHMOUD MOURAD and OMAR FAHMY EGYPT will not stand idle in the face of any direct threat to Egyptian and Libyan security, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has said after lawmakers allied to commander Khalifa Haftar urged Cairo to intervene militarily in Libya's civil war. Tribal leaders who flew in from Haftar's Benghazi stronghold told Sisi at a meeting in Cairo that they authorized him and the Egyptian army to intervene in their country to counter what they described as the "Turkish invasion and terrorism". The meeting, broadcast on state TV, illustrates the growing regional stakes in Libya, divided since 2014 between…