The Egyptian army will employ “absolute force” to put an end to terrorism in Sinai, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told Egyptians on Saturday in a speech at the inauguration of several development projects in the East Suez Canal Development Zone in northern Ismailia. “We have to put an end to terrorism in Sinai,” El-Sisi said. “Sinai is our land, and the Armed Forces will employ absolute force to put an end to violence there. [We would rather] die than have anyone [endanger] our land.” El-Sisi added that Egyptians should not fear any external threat. The East Suez Canal development project, which is part of the larger Suez Canal development plans, was launched in 2015. The project aims to develop major residential and industrial centres in the central Suez Canal governorate of Ismailia. The projects inaugurated by the president on Saturday included tunnels across the Suez Canal for easier access to Sinai's development areas, as well as two floating bridges and fish farms. The president said that the unity of Egyptians is enough to challenge the whole world, for “we are neither wicked conspirators nor are we after anyone's money or land. We only seek God's generosity to continue building and developing,” El-Sisi said. El-Sisi also announced during his speech that the housing ministry has been mandated with implementing a major urban development project in north Sinai that should be finalised within two to three years at a cost of EGP 100 billion, including Bir El-Abd. Last month, Bir El-Abd was the site of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Egypt's modern history, where gunmen killed 311 people at Al-Rawda Mosque during Friday prayers. “The more we endure, the more we'll move forward. Do not believe that success happens without hard work,” El-Sisi said.
