Sisi orders tighter security for vital facilities in Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ordered tighter security measures on Friday for vital facilities across the country, Anadolu has reported. The order came just hours after gunmen attacked Mar Mina Church and a shop in southern Cairo, killing at least 10 people, including eight Christians, and wounding a number of others.

Al-Sisi said that he “is following the consequences of the terror attack closely.” Such “desperate” terrorism, he insisted, will never destroy Egyptians’ national unity. An estimated 10-15 per cent of the population in Egypt are Christians.

Hours before the church attack, the Egyptian army announced that six soldiers and three gunmen had been killed in two separate incidents in North Sinai. Another three soldiers were killed in an attack in Beni Suef.

Only last Tuesday, Egypt’s Minister of the Interior raised the security alert to the highest level during the holiday period. Soldiers were deployed in several cities to secure places of worship.