Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi issued a decree on Sunday to establish a Supreme committee to counter sectarian strife.
The committee will be chaired by the presidential advisor for security affairs and will include representatives of the armed forces’ operations authority, the military and general intelligence departments, the administrative control authority and the national security agency.
According to the presidential decree, “the committee can invite to its meetings ministers or their representatives and the representatives of concerned parties to discuss issues related to their work, including the development of a general strategy to prevent and confront sectarian incidents and follow up their implementation, in addition to mechanisms to deal with sectarian incidents, in case of their occurrence.”
Sisi also ordered the committee to issue “periodic reports on the results of its work, as well as recommendations and mechanisms for implementation.”
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Major General Mahmoud Tawfiq emphasized that his ministry would spare no effort in taking the “necessary measures to preserve security and stability of the country,” adding that terrorist attempts would “not undermine our resolve to achieve our mission.”
Tawfiq spoke during a meeting on Sunday with a number of his aides and security leaders at the Information and Crisis Management Center at the Ministry of the Interior and in the presence of all the security directors and officials through a video conference.
According to the Egyptian Interior Ministry, the meeting discussed “the security plan to ensure safety during the Copts’ Christmas celebrations.”
