Sisi cuts short Ethiopia trip following Sinai attack

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi will cut short his visit to Ethiopia where an African Union summit is due to begin and will return home to follow up on the situation in the Sinai Peninsula which was hit by a series of deadly attacks late yesterday, a presidential statement said today.

“Following the terrorist attacks that hit Northern Sinai late Thursday, President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi has decided to only attend the opening session of the African Union summit and return to Cairo to follow up on the situation,” the release said.

At least 26 people were reportedly killed and 45 others injured in multiple attacks that targeted military and security sites in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. No official death toll has yet been issued.

The Wilayat Sinai militant group (formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Egyptian security forces have been waging a campaign against militants in Sinai – which shares its borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip – amid a rise in attacks on army and police personnel since the ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013.

Wilayat Sinai has claimed responsibility for a number of previous deadly attacks on security personnel, both in Sinai and in other parts of Egypt.