FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF EGYPT’S ARAB SPRING
Photo: Amr Sayed/APA/ZUMA
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned against protesters using today’s fifth anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution to disrupt the country. Al Arabiya reports that security forces were on high alert and the streets of Cairo were mostly calm this morning, five years to the day since the uprising that overthrew the regime of then-President Hosni Mubarak began. Sisi said the revolution had “noble principles” and marked a “new Egypt,” but that it had been hijacked by “narrow interests,” a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood and former President Mohammed Morsi. Independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr reports on how state security forces were cracking down in the days and hours ahead of the anniversary to minimize any possible uprising against the government.
VERBATIM
“They have to be serious. If they are not serious, war will continue. Up to them — you can lead a horse to water; you can’t make it drink,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said ahead of Syrian peace talks that were supposed to begin today in Geneva. According to Reuters, the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad said it was ready to attend, but opposition representatives said they wouldn’t until bombardments and blockades end and prisoners are released. Kerry said he hoped for “clarity” within the next two days.
- Speaking from Istanbul on Saturday after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. and Turkey were prepared for a military solution against ISIS in Syria if the authorities and the opposition don’t reach an agreement.
- ISIS, meanwhile, released a new video yesterday that purportedly shows old footage of nine of the 10 terrorists behind the Nov. 13 Paris attacks and renews threats against France and Britain, Le Monde reports. “We’ve been to your countries. We will slaughter you in your homes,” Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the attacks, is quoted as saying. President François Hollande said that “nothing would scare” France in its fight against terrorism.
