Egypt extends state of emergency for another 3 months

The Egyptian parliament yesterday approved a decision to extend a nationwide state of emergency for an additional three months.

“On 10 January, the House of Representatives received a decree from president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, in which he ordered an extension to the state of emergency throughout the country for a further period of three months starting from 15 January,” the parliament speaker, Ali Abdel-Aal, told local media.

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According to the parliament’s bylaw article 131, Abdel-Aal said, the majority of the parliament members (MPs) must approve the decision ahead of its implementation.

“Following a vote, more than two-thirds of MPs agreed on the presidential decree and the extension of the state of emergency for three months was approved,” he noted.

This is the seventh time for the Egyptian government to make a similar decision. Al-Sisi first imposed the three-month state of emergency in April 2017, following twin bombings at two churches in Gharbeya and Alexandria provinces, which both left 47 killed and 120 others wounded.