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2nd LD: Curfew in Egypt's Sinai extended by 3 months

Xinhua, January 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Egyptian government decided on Sunday to extend the curfew in Northern Sinai for three months, ending in April 25, official MENA news agency reported.

Spokesman of Egyptian Cabinet Hossam Qawish said on Sunday that Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has signed the decree of extending the curfew starting at 7:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. in parts of the country's North Sinai. The extended three months started from Sunday.

On Oct. 25, Egypt announced a three-month 14-hour curfew and a state of emergency in some parts of North Sinai following a blast targeted a big military checkpoint in North Sinai's Sheikh Zuweid city, leaving more than 30 soldiers killed and tens of others injured.

Last December, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered the night curfew in Sinai Peninsula to be cut by three hours.

Egypt has been witnessing unstable political conditions since Islamist President Mohamed Morsi's removal by the military in July 2013 following mass protests against his one-year rule and the following massive security crackdown on his loyalists that left nearly 1,000 killed and thousands more arrested.

Since then, terrorist activities have escalated in Egypt and anti-government attacks have extended from Sinai to the capital Cairo and other provinces across the country, with the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, which declared allegiance to the Islamic State recently, claiming responsibility for most of them.

Sunday also marks the fourth anniversary of the January 25 uprising. Although security measures have been tightened on the main streets and squares of Cairo and other main cities since several days ago, multiple protests developing to clashes took place all over the country since earlier Sunday and had resulted in several people's deaths.

According to Egypt's Health Ministry Spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, two people were killed while attempting to plant an explosive devise on a bridge in Behira province, and clashes in Alexandria province left one protester killed.

January 25 is a national holiday marking the start of 18-day nationwide protests which forced Hosni Mubarak out of office in 2011.

The 2011 popular uprising toppled Mubarak and brought the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi to office in 2012, who was later ousted by the military in July 2013 after mass protests against his one-year rule. Endit