Sisi to meet political figures over Sinai developments
Ahram Online, Sunday 1 Feb 2015
Coordinated militant attacks in North Sinai on Thursday left at least 30 dead, including army personnel and civilians


President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will on Sunday meet with representatives of political parties and other public figures to discuss developments in the wake of a deadly attack in North Sinai that left 30 dead.

The meeting, to be held at Al-Galaa Theatre and organised by the army, will include army and police commanders as well as cabinet members, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The Reform and Development Party, on of the invitees, said the meeting will discuss the realities of the situation in Sinai and the measures taken to combat terrorism in the peninsula.

The right-of-centre Conference Party and the left-of-centre Egyptian Social Democratic Party also said they had received invitations.

On Thursday, a series of militant attacks in North Sinai left at least 30 dead, including army personnel and civilians.

The attacks were claimed by Sinai-based Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, who have claimed most of the attacks in the area and who recently pledged allegiance to Islamic State

Following the attacks, El-Sisi issued a decree to create a unified military command for east of the Suez Canal to counter-terrorism led by GeneralOsama Roshdy Askar, the commander ofthe Third Army.

In mid-January, El-Sisi met with a number of political parties at a two-day meeting, his first meetings with parties since he became president last year, to discuss preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The army has been combating a decade-long jihadist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula that has spiked in the last year and a half.

The attacks mainly target army and police personnel but civilians have been affected too.

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