Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree to extend the country's already-imposed state of emergency for another three months starting from July 25 for security reasons, the Egyptian state TV reported on Sunday.
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"The armed forces and the police to take the necessary measures to face the perils of terrorism and its finance, maintain security nationwide, protect public and private properties and preserve the lives of citizens," the second article of the decree stated.
Under the Egyptian constitution, presidential decisions to renew the state of emergency must be approved by the country's parliament.
"The rulings of this decision are to be in effect after the approval of the House of Representatives," according to the fourth article of the decree.
The Egyptian president first imposed a three-month nationwide state of emergency in April 2017, following a twin bombing at two churches in the northern provinces of Gharbiya and Alexandria that killed at least 47 and wounded over 120 others.
Egypt has been facing a wave of terror activities that killed hundreds of policemen, soldiers and civilians since the popularly-backed military ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and the later security crackdown on his loyalists, mostly from the currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Most of the terrorist attacks in Egypt over the past few years were claimed by a Sinai-based group affiliated with the regional Islamic State militant group.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian army and police killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country's anti-terror war declared by Sisi following Morsi's ouster. ■
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