El-Sissi: Egypt model in fight against extremism
El-Sissi: Egypt model in fight against extremism
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is feeling vindicated by the world’s alarm over Islamic extremism that is fueling wars and bloodshed across the Middle East.
The former army general has faced widespread international criticism for his ouster last year of Egypt’s first freely elected president and his ferocious crackdown on Islamists that has killed more than 1,000 and imprisoned more than 20,000. A year later, after el-Sissi’s election as president, his critics fear he is leading his country into autocracy, with pro-democracy dissenters jailed or silenced.
But in an interview with The Associated Press — his first with the foreign media since he took office in June — el-Sissi insists all his actions were to combat militancy and save the country from civil war. He said Egypt is a model for fighting terrorism and that the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria should take note.
“More than a year ago, I warned that the region was heading to great danger from extremist thought,” he said. “It didn’t receive proper attention until the events in Iraq took place and the Islamic State swept over the Iraqi-Syrian borders.”
His approach, however, has raised concerns over the potential for democracy in Egypt.
Refugees stream into Turkey from Syria
SURUC, Turkey — Lugging sacks of belongings, hobbling on crutches, carrying children on their hip, more than 60,000 mostly Kurdish refugees in Syria have streamed across the dusty and barren border into Turkey, desperately seeking safety after Islamic State militants attacked their villages.
The large-scale displacement of so many and the movement of the Kurdish fighters into Syria reflected the ferocity of the fighting in the northern Kobani area, which borders Turkey, prompted hundreds of Kurdish fighters to rush to the area and Kurdish leaders to plead for international help.
Civilians began massing on the Turkish border on Thursday. Turkey did not let them in at first, saying it would provide them with aid on the Syrian side instead. By Friday, it had changed its mind. The numbers grew quickly as more entry points opened, and by late Saturday afternoon, more than 60,000 had poured across the frontier, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said.
Secret Service chief steps up security outside White House after fence-jumper made it inside
WASHINGTON — The Secret Service chief has stepped-up security outside the White House after a man with a knife who jumped the fence made it into the presidential residence before being apprehended, officials said Saturday.
President Barack Obama insisted he still has confidence in the beleaguered agency’s ability to protect him and his family.
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered enhanced officer patrols and surveillance along the North Fence of the compound just after the incident on Friday evening, which triggered a rare evacuation of the White House as well as renewed scrutiny of the Secret Service. The agency said Pierson had also ordered a comprehensive review of what happened.
“The president has full confidence in the Secret Service and is grateful to the men and women who day in and day out protect himself, his family and the White House,” said White House spokesman Frank Benenati.
Another man was arrested Saturday outside the White House in an unrelated event.
By local and wire sources