Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Friday more than 12,000 security forces had been wounded in attacks since mid-2014.
Sisi, speaking at a meeting in Cairo, did not mention the number of people killed in clashes with militants. Security sources say they are in the hundreds.
“We have three and a half years to fight,” said Sisi, who began his presidency in mid-2014. “The number of injured is more than 12,000 to 13,000.” He added that among the injured “who lost part of his body and not the eye … every wound injured in the body of Egypt.”
The Egyptian army says hundreds of militants have been killed in recent years in a police-led campaign. Militants who are active mainly in North Sinai are a security challenge for the largest Arab population.
Security sources said two officers and 10 recruits were injured on Friday in two explosions west of the city of Arish, capital of North Sinai.
Sisi again vowed in his speech at the meeting to end militant activity in northern Sinai. He said authorities had to remove farms around El Arish airport to secure him after an attack on the airport in which one officer was killed and two wounded in December. Defense Minister General Sudqi Subhi and Interior Minister Major General Majdi Abdel Ghaffar discussed the security situation in Arish at the time of the attack.
“Al-Arish airport (which has been closed for years) needs to be returned to work. “We have used a decision to use extreme violence during the next phase … We will use a real brute force … We will remain strong in our use of force.”
But stressed that the elimination of cultivation and the use of force is not directed at the population. He said the government was spending a lot of money on development in North Sinai.
The militants, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic state in November 2014, stepped up their attacks against the army and police after the 2011 uprising and recently launched attacks outside northern Sinai, some of which targeted churches in Cairo and the cities of Alexandria and Tanta.
Sissi said at the end of the three-day “Nation Tale” meeting that he was running for president in March.
“Today, I again stand before my national conscience and tell you frankly and transparently that you will allow me to accept my candidacy for the post of president and regain your trust for a second term,” Sissi said in a televised address.
During the discussions, he expressed his satisfaction with what he said were achievements since the beginning of his rule. “God has delivered what has been accomplished over the past four years,” he said.
Most Egyptians complain of high prices since the devaluation of the Egyptian currency in November 2016, but Sisi says it is necessary to reform the economy, as Egyptians say it is for the benefit of future generations.
Sisi’s term ends in early June and the constitution allows him to seek a second and final term.
