Egypt extends state of emergency for 3 months

The Egyptian parliament has approved the extension of the state of emergency across the country for three months more months which was first declared in 2017.

With a two-thirds majority, parliament on Monday approved a decree by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to extend the state of emergency, Efe news reported citing state-run MENA news agency as saying.

According to the decree, "the armed forces and the police are in charge of taking all the necessary measures to face the threat of terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private property, as well as citizens".

In a report presented to parliament on Monday, its General Committee considered the extension to be necessary given "the circumstances Egypt has been through at both national and regional level".

It is a further step in the efforts that aim at fighting terrorism and boosting development, according to MENA.

The state of emergency was last extended on July 25.

It was first declared in April 2017 following deadly attacks on churches in northern Egypt which left dozens of people dead.

Egypt's constitution details that a state of emergency should be applied with a maximum of six months in a row.

Parliament has separated each six-month period with a few days to comply with the law.