Terrorism will be one of the major challenges facing Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi, who begins a new term in office next month after winning nearly 100 percent of the vote in February's election.
In some quarters, however, Sissi's war on terror is described as a “heavy-handed” approach by security forces.
“I would actually take it further and call it a dirty war,” Amnesty International Egypt campaigner Hussein Baoumi told VOA. “They have used the war on terror to justify the arrest of journalists, members of opposition, comedians, presidential candidates, LGBTI individuals, and to continue limiting freedom of religion, harass human rights defenders and human rights organizations’ staff.”
The Egyptian government has denied the allegations. During a visit to France late last year, President Sissi denied allowing his forces to use torture. He told a Paris press conference that, “We do not practice torture...”
Also, in response to an April 2018 report by Amnesty International detailing abuse of prisoners through the use of perpetual solitary confinement, Egyptian authorities denied that the practice is widespread.
Egypt recently launched Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 to try to reclaim the northern Sinai Peninsula, the Nile Delta and the Western Desert areas from extremist groups. The military claimed it has killed scores of terrorists, while dismantling hundreds of “terrorist hideouts.” Baoumi and other activists, however, have described the operation as a horror committed in the name of fighting terrorism.
Amanda Kadlec, security policy analyst with the RAND Corporation, a research institution based outside Washington, says the issue of human rights abuse in the form of arbitrary arrests, detention and maltreatment of political dissent, whether secular or otherwise, can lead to radicalization.
“This isn’t to say that because someone who is living hand-to-mouth and spent hard time in prison, he or she is going to join ISIS or another jihadist group, but these could be points of weakness that can be exploited to recruit… to violence,” she said, using an acronym for Islamic State.
In early May, Egypt’s chief prosecutor referred 555 people to a military court on charges of joining the IS Sinai Province group. Hussein Baoumi of Amnesty International says such military courts are inherently unfair because officials presiding over them are members of the military. “These officials report to the minister of defense and do not have the necessary training on (the) rule of law… Yet, military courts regularly issue and uphold death sentences that …rely only on confessions extracted under torture.”
Significant threats
Several extremist groups exist in Egypt today, but the deadliest is IS Sinai Province (Wilayat Sinai), which claimed responsibility for the downing of a Russian passenger jet that killed all 224 people on board in October 2015. In the deadliest terror attack in Egypt, militants from the group attacked a Sufi mosque in Bir al-Abed in the Sinai Peninsula. More than 300 people were killed and 128 others wounded in the attack on November 24, 2017.
According to Kadlec, the evidence is concrete and apparent that terror groups pose significant threats to the Egyptian people and state. With the deadly attacks on police, military and civilian targets in the Sinai Peninsula, terrorism is threatening to tear Egypt apart. There has also been a significant increase in attacks on Christian (Coptic) targets. Hundreds have lost their lives and there are “near regular attacks on personnel in the Sinai,” said Kadlec.
Challenges
While using the military option in fighting terrorism may help in decreasing attacks, one other factor that President Sissi will need to address adequately is the economy. According to Kadlec, the issue could be used as a tool to recruit people who have nothing to lose.
She said that Egypt has implemented a rigorous economic reform program, but “the ordinary Egyptian is struggling due to inflation following a recent devaluation of the pound.”
Amnesty's Baoumi also said that President Sissi “must start with reining in the security forces and holding those responsible for human rights violations accountable.
“A state built on democracy, human rights, transparency and the rule of law” is what it will take for Egypt to win the fight against terrorism and prosper, said Baoumi.
