Egypt’s US-Israel backed army chief to run for president

Rapid developments took place in Egypt as the candidacy of Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the army chief and the Minister of Defense, was confirmed. In a statement released following a meeting by the supreme military council, the army announced its decision in favor of putting Sisi forward to run for presidency. The statement described the calls of the public for Sisi to run as a demand that must be met.
Hours before the announcement, Egypt’s interim president Mansour Adly issued a decree promoting General Sisi to the rank of Field Marshal. Egypt has been in a state of turmoil, with frequent deadly violence since the removal of President Mohamed Morsi from power by the army following massive protests against his rule in July. Since then, the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated as a terrorist organization has been organizing rallies against the army, which resulted in deadly clashes between security forces and pro-Morsi protesters. Clashes on the 3rd anniversary of the January 25th revolution left dozens of people dead. Violence committed by militants has also been on the rise with 4 bomb blasts in the capital Cairo on the eve of the anniversary of the revolution. In addition, an army chopper was gunned down by militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Ansar Bayt el Maqds, an al-Qaeda inspired group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks and vowed in online recordings to keep fighting against what they called the coup leaders. The army’s official announcement put an end to all speculations about Sisi’s candidacy in the presidential election. However, it remains to be seen who will run against the ever-popular general.