Egypt’s spymaster sacked for thaw in Doha-Cairo ties, reports say

Egypt’s spymaster was removed from his post by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi as a precondition to reconciliation between the country and Qatar, Egyptian political sources have said.

Al-Ahram daily, a state-run Egyptian paper, reported on Saturday that Sisi had relieved Director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Directorate Mohamed Ahmed Fareed al-Tuhami.

Tuhami was relieved of the post “for the presence of a health problem that would hinder him from carrying out his duties,” the daily wrote and said Sisi had appointed General Khaled Fawzi, head of the National Security Agency, as the acting intelligence chief.

The sources said Tuhami is considered to be a radical supporter of a government crackdown on Islamists.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that the sacking of Tuhami “comes about two weeks after an embarrassing intelligence failure,” referring to a news outlet’s obtaining what appeared to be leaked recordings of private conversations in the Egyptian Defense Ministry after the military ouster of then President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

“Mr. Sisi, then the defense minister, is heard deliberating with other top generals, and at other moments they discussed how to manage Mr. Morsi’s imprisonment and criminal prosecution,” the New York Times wrote.

Saudi Arabia’s Asharq Alawsat newspaper has also said that following the Egyptian and Qatari leaders’ welcoming Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s proposal for reconciliation between the two sides, a delegation from Qatar is to attend an economic conference which will be held in Cairo in March.

Khalid al-Tuwaijri, an advisor to the Saudi monarch, has also expressed hope that, over the coming days, the two countries’ media contribute to calm between the two sides.