Egypt's El-Sisi Ends State of Emergency for First Time in Four Years

Egypt has had a state of emergency in effect since April 2017, after the second of two terrorist attacks by Daesh* killed dozens of Coptic Christians.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi announced on his official Facebook account on Monday that "thanks to the efforts of its great people and loyal citizens," Cairo is now able to lower its state of emergency.

The military leader added that Egypt has become "an oasis of security and stability in the region" thanks to the "sincere participation in all development and construction efforts."

"As I declare this resolution, I remember with all tribute and appreciation our heroic martyrs, without whom we would not have reached security and stability," Sisi said. "Together, we are steady moving towards building the new Republic, seeking God's help and support. Long live Egypt."

The state of emergency was first imposed on April 10, 2017, in the aftermath of suicide bombings against two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday that together killed 47 people and injured another 126.

Months later, Egypt carried out several airstrikes against Daesh positions in neighboring Libya, which is locked in a civil war that has been exploited by terrorist groups. However, attacks against Coptic churches continued. The Christian minority constitutes nearly 10% of Egypt's population and Sisi has made major efforts to cultivate their support for his rule.

Sisi came to power in July 2013 at the head of a military coup d'etat that overthrew Egypt's first democratically-elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Mohamed Morsi. Then the country's defense minister and head of the armed forces, Sisi established an authoritarian state that crushed protests against it just a month later, killing as many as 1,000 demonstrators in Cairo, according to human rights groups.

*A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries