Egypt: 6 intelligence officers resign after warning of people's anger 

Six senior Egyptian intelligence officers resigned yesterday after they were said to have warned the country’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of prevailing anger among citizens across the country.

Africa Intelligence quoted anonymous sources as saying that the senior officers had submitted their official resignations on “23 October after a meeting they had with the Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.”

“Four of the resigned officers had served during the era of the late President Hosni Mubarak and were allies of former intelligence chief, Khaled Fawzy,” the sources pointed out.

They added that the generals, during their meeting with Kamel, had protests against “Sisi’s reports about policies of austerity,” noting that Kamel had called the Egyptian president during his meeting with them, “but he [Sisi] had underestimated the officers’ concerns over discontent across the North African country.”

This is not the first time that intelligence officials have opposed the Egyptian leader’s policies. Some senior officers were reported recently to have protested against Al-Sisi’s decision to sell state assets around the Suez Canal to Emirati investors. Others also have opposed the Egyptian army’s interference in the running of the country’s economy.

Their resignations come as Al-Sisi – who faces international scrutiny over his human rights record – prepares to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) on 6-18 November in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. It also comes at a time of opposition to Al-Sisi’s candidacy in the 2024 presidential elections.

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