Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said he will not allow divisions or organising along political, religious or sectarian lines among members of the Egyptian armed forces, Egypt's Ahram Online reported Thursday (February 9th).
The Egyptian military will forever remain "the army of the nation", he said during a Thursday speech before the Egyptian Armed Forces 24th intellectual seminar titled "Counter-terrorism; a nation's will".
"I say before you, I refused a request over four years ago to allow sectarian and religious affiliation inside our armed forces; our army will remain the army of the Egyptian people," he said.
"Anyone who appears to have adopted any orientation or loyalty inside the army except to his nation will be expelled immediately; this has been the rule of the army for 30 years," he said.
Addressing Egypt's army and police, al-Sisi praised the role of both national institutions, saying they were fighting a "sacred war" against terrorism and working to protect their nation.
"For three years we have been fighting this war,'' al-Sisi said, stressing that loyalty inside the army and police is solely to the nation.
The war on terrorism must carry on simultaneously with development efforts, he added.
