Egypt’s Sisi to Take Oath of Office for 3rd Term in New Capital on Tuesday

President Sisi casts his vote during the presidential elections in 2023. (AP)
President Sisi casts his vote during the presidential elections in 2023. (AP)
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Egypt’s Sisi to Take Oath of Office for 3rd Term in New Capital on Tuesday

President Sisi casts his vote during the presidential elections in 2023. (AP)
President Sisi casts his vote during the presidential elections in 2023. (AP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be sworn in for a third term during a ceremony in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) on Tuesday.

He will take the oath of office at parliament at its new building in the capital, where construction began in 2015.

An Egyptian security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sisi will arrive at the new capital on Tuesday where he will hold a short meeting with the parliament speaker and other officials from the legislature before the ceremony.

Sisi was elected to a new term in December, winning 89.6% of the vote. Around 39.7 million Egyptians voted in the elections.

Sisi’s new six-year term will officially begin on April 3.

He was first elected president for four years in 2014. After a constitutional amendment, the presidential term was extended to six.

Managing Director and Board Chairman of the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) Company Khaled Abbas said holding the swearing in ceremony in the new capital will inaugurate the first phase of NAC.

In televised remarks on Saturday, he said state affairs will be managed from the new capital in the coming phase.

Sisi’s inauguration will be a celebration for the whole of Egypt, he added. The new capital is more than ready to hold the ceremony and other major events.

The new capital aims to ease pressure off Cairo. It covers 700 square kilometers and construction is being carried out over three phases. The first covers 168 kms, or around half the size of Cairo.

On whether the parliament will officially move its operations to the new capital, a parliamentary source said it is likely to keep its old headquarters in central Cairo.

He noted that the president will continue to use the Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo for official receptions, while the parliament may partially move its operations to the new capital.

Political science professor at Cairo University Dr. Mustafa Kamel al-Sayed told Asharq Al-Awsat that complete shift of state management to the new capital depends on the president and whether he will relocate there.

Some ministries and government agencies have already kicked off their operations there, he revealed.



Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
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Former Regime Elements, Drug Traffickers Targeted in Western Homs and Damascus Campaigns

The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).
The Anti-Narcotics Department seizes a drug depot belonging to Maher al-Assad in the Sabura area in the Damascus countryside (Ministry of Interior).

The Syrian Military Operations Administration has been pressing its security campaigns aimed at disarming former regime militia remnants and combating drug traffickers across Syria.

On Tuesday, for the third time, the administration, in collaboration with the General Security Directorate, launched a large-scale operation in western rural Homs. The campaign focused on the villages of Jabbourin Rafain, Al-Haysa, Jabbourin, Qaniyat Al-Assi, Tasnin, Kafrnan, Akrad Al-Dasniya, and their surroundings. Simultaneous campaigns were conducted in Aleppo’s Nairab district, Jaramana in the Damascus countryside, and northern Daraa.

Security sources said the operation in rural Homs targets “remnants of Assad militias who refused to surrender their weapons, arms depots, drug dealers, and traffickers,” according to an official statement from the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Military reinforcements were dispatched to support the campaign in the targeted areas.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the operation in the village of Jabbourin in rural Hama marked the second such operation within a week. The observatory noted that several civilians and military personnel, including those who had reconciled with the government, were arrested. Some detainees were later released, while others remain under investigation.

Residents in rural Homs expressed significant concern about the proliferation of weapons, incidents of abductions, and the escalating fear of retribution. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, they noted a prevailing sense of unease and insecurity, as anonymous actors exploit the current chaos to fuel tensions and instability.

The General Security Directorate in Homs has urged residents in western rural Homs villages and towns to fully cooperate with its forces and the Military Operations Administration to ensure the success of the campaign’s objectives.

In Daraa, southern Syria, the Daraa 24 network reported that the General Security Directorate carried out a raid in the city of Izraa, north of Daraa. During the operation, large quantities of weapons were seized, and warnings were issued to individuals still in possession of firearms to surrender them “to preserve the region’s security and stability.”

An earlier security operation in the Lajat region, located between the Suwayda and Daraa governorates, resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals described as former regime remnants, drug traffickers, and arms dealers. The Syrian Interior Ministry also announced the arrest of “remnant elements and members of a gang involved in the theft of weapons from a warehouse in the Mazraa project area of Damascus.”

Meanwhile, the General Security Directorate released several former regime elements in Damascus after verifying their lack of involvement in violations against the Syrian people. According to local sources cited by Syrian Television, several conscripts detained in Adra Prison in Damascus were freed on Tuesday, with additional releases expected in the coming days.

Last week, the General Security Directorate released 360 detainees, including former regime officers, out of approximately 800 people arrested as part of the Homs security campaign. Following investigations, the authorities confirmed that those individuals were not in possession of weapons and had pledged not to engage in activities against the new Syrian administration.