Egypt's Sisi urges Tunisians not to ruin their country

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi advised in a televised speech Saturday the Tunisian people not to ruin their country, referring to the ongoing anti-government protests in Tunisia over unemployment and low living conditions.

"I do not interfere in the domestic affairs of our brothers in Tunisia, but I tell all Tunisian people that the economic conditions are very difficult in the whole world," Sisi said in his statement aired on the Egyptian state TV on the occasion of the Egyptian national Police Day.

"Preserve you country! Take care of your country!" Sisi repeated, addressing those protesting in Tunisia where a curfew has been imposed on Friday to contain the turmoil and the skirmishes between protesters and security men.

Tunisia initiated the spark of the "Arab Spring" in the 2011 uprising that toppled its former autocrat leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and then Egyptians similarly ousted their long-time president Hosni Mubarak.

Sisi's speech comes two days ahead of the official Police Day that coincides with the fifth anniversary of January 25 uprising that overthrew Mubarak in 2011.

Sisi took office in 2014 after he, as military chief, led the removal of former Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013 in response to mass protests against Morsi's one-year rule and his now-blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group.

The Egyptian police and armed forces are currently intensifying security presence in vital squares and outside state institutions nationwide, particularly in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo where the anti-Mubarak uprising erupted five years ago. Endit