How far Egypt stepped toward stability in 2018

CAIRO – 31 December 2018: Since President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi led the country, purging Egypt from terrorism came among the top priorities of his agenda. Sisi focused on combating terrorism and battling Islamist militants in Sinai in order to restore safety in the country.

Egypt safer than US

In June 2018, Egypt outranked the US, UK and the entire African continent when it comes to safety, according to a new global poll.

Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city? This was one of the questions asked by the annual Gallup Global Law and Order to residents of countries across the world. Singapore topped the list as the safest country across the world while Venezuela was deemed least safe.

The US and the UK ranked in the 21st and 35th places, respectively, while Egypt came 16th out of 135 countries.

Egypt scored 88 out of 100 in this survey which places it on the same level as countries such as Denmark, China and Slovenia. In 2016, Egypt scored 82 out of 100.

According to BBC news website, Gallup's Jon Clifton said that "Egypt's score reflected a trend over recent reports, which have seen Egyptians becoming increasingly trusting of the police".

In this Survey, Gallup says it interviewed 148,000 adults in 142 countries and areas. The questions were mainly around confidence in local police, safety at night, and cases of theft. The interviewers also asked whether citizens had been mugged or assaulted during the past 12 months.

Sinai operation

In February, army spokesman Colonel Tamer el-Refae announced in a strongly worded televised statement that the military and police forces initiated the Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018.

The operation aims to eradicate terrorism in North and Central Sinai, in addition to other areas in the Nile Delta and Western Desert.

As part of the national battles fought courageously by the “heroes” of the Armed Forces, in cooperation with security authorities of the Interior Ministry, to uproot terrorism and enhance stability and development in Egypt, the operations in Sinai managed to purge Sinai from 60 percent of the terrorism in the city, according to National security experts.

During the past four years, the army managed to destroy 992 terrorist hideouts and eliminate 19,108 terrorists possessing huge amounts of ammunition, arms and explosive devices, Hossam Lasheen, former assistant interior minister said.

Since the ousting of former Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt has seen growing waves of extremism washing over the society and spawning numerous deadly attacks. Among these attacks was the terrorist attack that hit Al-Rawdah Mosque in Al-Arish, North Sinai, and left more than 302 Friday prayer congregants dead in late November.

Minister of Justice Mohamed Hossam Abdel-Rahim said Egypt will succeed in eliminating terrorism which aims at its security and stability, adding that Egypt exerts strenuous efforts to uproot such dark evil at the intellectual and security levels.

Addressing a two-day symposium organized by the ministry on confronting terrorist ideologies, the minister said the Armed Forces and the police are exerting great efforts to confront terror at the security and military levels, adding that what Egypt is facing is an international and regional kind of terror that is orchestrated by some countries and organizations.

These countries fund and train terrorists and recruit youth for terrorist organizations through mass media and websites, he said, asserting that Egypt will succeed to curb and uproot terrorism.

Achieving stability

Hossam Lasheen said that combating terrorism in the Egyptian city of Sinai is a bigger challenge, adding that Egypt managed to purge Sinai from 60 percent of the terrorism in the city.

Fouad Allam, a member of the National Council of Terrorism, said that achieving stability in Egypt is the best way to combat terrorism, adding that the state is responsible for cutting off supply lines to terrorist organizations.

Political, social, economic, cultural, intellectual and religious anti-terrorism efforts are also a priority to the state, besides military efforts against terrorism, Allam said. He added that these efforts should all work together to combat the ideology of these terrorist organizations.

Concerning military anti-terrorism efforts, Colonel Hatem Saber, expert in fighting against international terrorism, said that the success of the Comprehensive Operation – Sinai 2018 is a priority to the state, adding that the state managed to significantly cut off political and economic supply lines to terrorist organizations.

Former director of the Criminal Investigation Department Fadi al-Habashi called for developing the police system, saying that crimes are renewable, and that some criminals use modern techniques in the crimes they commit. He also called for the continuous support of the security system, affirming its importance for tourism and economy.

Supreme Council to Combat Terrorism

The parliamentarian Committee of Constitutional and Legislative Affairs, headed by Bahaa Abu Shuka, approved a bill in April to establish a Supreme Council to combat terrorism and extremism.

The parliamentarian committee held a meeting to discuss the bill that will allow the establishment of the Supreme Council to Combat Terrorism and Extremism (SCCTE). The new body will amass all the institutional and social capabilities to hinder all the causes of terrorism without affecting freedom rights.

The new council will replace the National Council to combat terrorism and extremism suggested by President Abdel Fatah al Sisi in 2017. The council will set a strategy to eradicate both external and internal terrorism.

Cairo governorate will be the location of the new body, where the head of the council will have to call for a meeting every two months. Ministers and terrorism experts will attend those meetings; also, the council will coordinate with other institutions to study means of terrorism confrontation.

CEN-SAD regional anti-terrorism center

Egypt finished constructing the regional Sahel-Saharan Anti-Terrorism Center in Cairo, as part of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s vow to combat terrorism that has expanded in the country since 2013.

In a joint press conference on May 25, 2017, President Sisi and President Alpha Conde of Guinea reaffirmed their firmness to set up a regional center to combat terrorism. Guinea is one of the subsequent members of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).
Sisi, during the conference, expressed his optimism that this center shall contribute positively to enhancing regional cooperation in countering terrorism.

An Egyptian delegation of the Defense Ministry participated in the seventh Meeting of Ministers in Charge of Defense of the CEN-SAD Member States that was held in Abuja, Nigeria, on June 20-22.

The meeting discussed means of fostering cooperation in combating terrorism via exchanging expertise and support in defense and security fields.

Assistant Defense Minister Mohamed el-Keshki gave a speech on behalf of Defense and Military Production Minister Mohamed Zaki, in which he asserted Egypt’s continuing support to the CEN-SAD member states and the Egyptian political leadership’s keenness to enhance cooperation to combat terrorism and entrench security and stability in the region.

During the meeting, the member states hailed Egypt’s efforts aiming at establishing a regional CEN-SAD center to confront terrorism. They also thanked President Sisi for the establishment of the center as well as granting 2,000 scholarships to military personnel to study and receive training in Egypt.