Egypt’s Parliament extends nationwide state of emergency for three months

Egypt extended its nationwide state of emergency for a further three months, starting January 13, based on a decree issued by President Abdel-fattah el-sisi on January 2.

The decree was approved by Parliament in a plenary session on Tuesday, with a two-thirds majority in favor, ahram.org reported.

The decree authorizes the army and police to take the necessary steps to combat terrorism in order to preserve the safety of citizens and public property across the nation.

The state of emergency was first imposed in April 2017 after two church bombings killed 47 people. It was then extended in July for another three months.

In October, another decree was issued, declaring a fresh state of emergency for a new period of three months, with Tuesday’s vote marking the first extension of that decree.

According to the Egyptian Constitution, a state of emergency cannot exceed six months from its date of declaration, while decrees imposing or extending it should be approved by the Parliament within seven days.

Terror attacks have risen in Egypt since Sisi came to power as president in 2014.

More than 300 Muslim worshippers were massacred at a mosque in northern Sinai last November in what was described as the most high-profile attack on civilians in Egypt’s modern history. Many blame him for the unrest, saying his hard-handed crackdown on those deemed close to former president Mohamed Morsi has worsened the situation.