Source: Cairo Institute For Human Rights Studies
Author(s): Bahey Eldin Hassan
Original Link: http://www.cihrs.org/?p=19817&lang=en
The Islamic State’s affiliate in Egypt is on the march. On Palm Sunday, a pair of bombs killed 45 people at church. This was the third major attack on Coptic churches in less than four months — and the first such attack recently in major Egyptian cities, which many people believed were more secure. These attacks follow after months of terrorism, and they could have been predicted: Just two months ago, the Sinai-based Islamic State affiliate issued a video promising that the group would target Copts in Egypt’s mainland.
These attacks demonstrate that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s counterterrorism strategy is failing. Mr. Sisi claims that he is committed to fighting terrorism, but in reality his energy is directed toward his other enemies: secular activists, journalists, independent members of Parliament, businessmen and academics who oppose him, human rights organizations and peaceful dissident Islamist groups….