CAIRO: Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood has condemned attacks in the Sinai Peninsula that killed at least 33 security personnel on Friday but said President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi was responsible for security failures. The attacks are a setback for the government, which had managed over the past few months to make some progress in the struggle against an Islamist militant insurgency in the Sinai as it focuses on trying to repair the economy.
As army chief Sisi ousted elected President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in July 2013 after protests against his rule.
His government has since cracked down on Egypt’s oldest and most organised Islamist movement, throwing thousands of Mursi’s supporters in jail and labelling the group a terrorist organisation. It draws no distinction between the Brotherhood and Islamist militants in the Sinai.
The Muslim Brotherhood says it is a peaceful movement and has consistently denied links to Islamist militant attacks against security forces, which have increased since the movement was removed from power. Reuters
