Internal plots worry me more than external threats: Sisi

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said he “doesn’t worry about attempts from the outside to destroy Egypt,” but instead is concerned about attempts from inside the country, in public comments on Friday.

“There’s a hellish scheme [from within] that some may not pay attention to,” al-Sisi said while opening the El-Galala Mountain touristic site on the Red Sea.

“The cracks that have appeared in [Egyptian] society must be fixed,” he said, according to MENA agency.

He directed his address to the young people who will take part in the government’s newly launched Youth Leadership Programme, several of whom were in the audience.

al-Sisi said that in the coming period, more national projects would be carried out.

The country has been facing a number of domestic critics of its recent policies, including a recent decision by the government to recognise a Saudi Arabian claim to two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir. On Friday protests took place in several cities against the decision, while a public campaign opposed to the deal has been launched by a number of politicians.

In a televised speech on Wednesday, al-Sisi had also said that “evil” people in Egypt had spread lies about the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni in Cairo. The lies, which the president did not detail, have been believed internationally and caused embarrassment and criticism of Egypt, he said.

source: Ahram Online