Cairo, April 28, 2020 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday ordered the renewal for three months of a long-running state of emergency, citing health as well as security concerns. Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017 when twin church bombings claimed by an Islamic State group affiliate killed dozens of people. The new extension comes as the government battles to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the Arab world’s most populous country.
“Given the serious health and security situation … the state of emergency has been declared across the country for three months starting Tuesday, April 28,” said a presidential decree published in the official gazette overnight. The health ministry has so far recorded 4,782 COVID-19 cases in the population of 100 million. Of those, 337 have died while 1,236 have recovered.
The state of emergency gives police broad powers of arrest and detention and curtails constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. Last week, state media reported that parliament had approved amendments to the emergency law expanding the president’s powers to curb the virus’a spread. The amendments grant the president rights to close schools, suspend public sector work, restrict gatherings, quarantine inbound travellers and order private medical facilities to assist with general healthcare.
Tuesday’s renewal also directed the armed forces and police to “take the required measures to face terrorism and its funding”. Egypt has been battling a jihadist insurgency, which surged after the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by then army chief Sisi. The attacks have been largely concentrated in the northern Sinai Peninsula, which has been under a state of emergency since October 2014.
AFP
Sign up to free weekly recap on North Africa and the Sahel
We send out a weekly newsletter every Friday, highlighting the most important events of the week. Sign up today, it is free.
Transcript: The Sahel is now clearly the next big event in Africa's geopolitics. After the complete destruction of Libya, the same foreign powers that paid for the killing of a nation are now shifting their attention to the Sahel, establishing the bases of another...
Free weekly newsletter on events and issues in North Africa and the Sahel
Signup for the most relevant news sent to your email once a week. Please check your email and spam folder for double opt in.
By Arezki Daoud: France is experiencing an unprecedented backlash in the Sahel and in West Africa. Disastrous post-colonial policies forced the people of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to expel French troops and diplomats, reducing Paris' entrenched but...
By MondAfrique: A column of armed vehicles from the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), the Touareg rebel coalition driven out of Kidal, was attacked by fighters from the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) on Friday in the Ouagadou forest, while that it was...
Agricultural trade between France and Algeria is experiencing challenges that are primarily affecting French exporters. From the onslaught of the Russian grain exports to Algeria, essentially displacing French exporters, to Algeria banning French cattle due to EHDV disease, not all is well between Algeria and France in the agricultural trade sector. The most affected parties in this situation are French producers and exporters, who are looking for new initiatives to fight back.
The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.