Egypt Extends State of Emergency for Three Months

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Egypt Extends State of Emergency for Three Months

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has issued an order extending the state of emergency for another three months, starting Friday.

The decision, which was published in the Official Gazette on Thursday, stated: “The armed and police forces shall take the necessary measures to confront the dangers of terrorism and its financing, to maintain security throughout the country, to preserve public and private property and to protect the lives of citizens.”

Egypt first imposed the state of emergency in April after two church bombings killed at least 45 people. It was then extended in July for a further three months.

Constitutional Jurist Rajai Attieh, member of the National Council for Combating Terrorism and Extremism, told Asharq al-Awsat that Thursday’s decision was a new announcement of the state of emergency, not an extension of the previous one, in compliance with a constitutional provision that prevents the extension of an emergency state more than once, but allows the President to re-declare emergency state after the expiry of the extension period.

According to the Egyptian Constitution, the declaration of a state of emergency for a specified period shall not exceed three months, and shall be extended only one time for a similar period, after the approval of two-thirds of the members of Parliament.

Attieh stressed that Egypt was facing a real war and was fighting foreign and local terrorist elements not only in the Sinai but also in Cairo, the Delta and all Egyptian governorates.

He noted in this regard that the war on terrorism was a strong reason to declare a state of emergency, which is “indisputably necessary to secure Egyptian national security.”

Egypt has been witnessing sporadic terrorist acts, especially in northern Sinai. Those have increased over the past four years, following the ousting of former president Mohammed Morsi in 2013, who belongs to the “banned” Muslim Brotherhood organization.



Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
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Sudanese Army Recaptures Positions from RSF in El Fasher

Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)
Thick smoke rises over El Fasher following clashes between army forces and the RSF (DPA)

The Sudanese army carried out a surprise military operation in the early hours of Saturday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, regaining several positions in the city’s far southwest that it had previously abandoned to advancing Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Military sources reported that calm returned to El Fasher after intense clashes on Friday between the army and RSF fighters, who attempted a major offensive to deepen their hold inside the city. In a statement, the army said its Sixth Infantry Division successfully repelled a fresh RSF attack, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment, and restored control over all frontline areas.

RSF militants had infiltrated southern neighborhoods, seizing the Central Security Reserve headquarters and the Shalla prison. According to army sources, these forces were pushed back through ground combat supported by extensive drone strikes, forcing them to retreat to their original positions. The sources confirmed there were no significant breakthroughs or territorial gains by the RSF following the operation.

In a statement on Saturday, Prime Minister Kamel Idris expressed “deep anger, pain, and responsibility” over the worsening humanitarian disaster in El Fasher. He condemned the “suffocating and inhumane siege imposed by the RSF militia,” describing it as “one of the most brutal cases of collective extortion and systematic starvation in recent history.”

Idris vowed that the government would not stand idly by in the face of this “atrocious” crime and pledged to use all political, diplomatic, and humanitarian means to break the siege and ensure urgent aid reaches civilians trapped in El Fasher amid widespread starvation and international silence.

He called on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with international and humanitarian organizations, to act immediately to pressure the militia to open humanitarian corridors and end the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians.

The prime minister highlighted the RSF’s refusal to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2736, which demands lifting the siege on El Fasher, and their rejection of UN calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. He held the militia responsible for obstructing aid and accountable for the ongoing starvation and terror inflicted on civilians.

Idris warned against silence over these crimes, including the killing of civilians fleeing the siege and bombardments. He also cited the systematic destruction of hospitals by RSF suicide drone and strategic attacks, threatening the lives of millions of innocent civilians.

“What is happening in El Fasher is a major crime committed in full view and hearing of the world,” he said, urging the international community to move beyond lukewarm statements to real action and pressure on those besieging, starving, and attacking civilians.

The RSF continues to attempt to seize the city and its army base, the last stronghold of government forces across all Darfur states. Military sources said defenders repelled the assault and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers.

The RSF has maintained a tight siege on El Fasher since May 2024, blocking all roads and supply routes and preventing humanitarian aid from entering, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths from starvation and medical shortages.