File photo: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi gives an address after a militant attack in Minya, at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt May 26, 2017 (Photo: the Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has renewed a nationwide state of emergency for three months starting Thursday, the official gazette said, extending a measure in place for around two years.
The state of emergency was first imposed in April 2017 after two church bombings which killed 47 people. It has been continually extended since.
The renewal should be approved by the parliament within seven days.
The decision allows security forces to “take [measures] necessary to confront the dangers and funding of terrorism and safeguard security in all parts of the country,” read a presidential decree published in the official gazette in its Tuesday issue.
Egypt launched a large-scale counter-terrorism campaign involving the police and the military last year to crush militants mainly based in the border North Sinai region.
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