President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a presidential decree of general mourning throughout Egypt starting Sunday, after 21 Egyptian military personnel were killed on the Egyptian-Libyan border on Saturday night. The deaths come after fire-fight broke out between a group of militants and border guards near Al-Farafra Oasis. The shootout also resulted in the injury of four Egyptian military personnel and the death of "several terrorists", said an armed forces spokesman in a statement on Saturday. This came after the militants hit an ammunition dump with an RPG. The army retrieved two vehicles weapons and ammunition, as well as explosives, which were defused. It also sent reinforcements and ambulances to the site. The army called the incident a "continued terrorist attempt to target the nation and hinder its path to stability and development." Al-Sisi's decree of mourning lasts until Tuesday night. The National Defence Council, headed by President Al-Sisi, assembled Saturday night, resolving to "avenge" the "terrorist act". The council discussed the state of Egypt's internal and border security, counterterrorism strategies, and "efforts and steps to guarantee the stability of Egypt and protecting the rights and freedoms of its people". The Al Tayar Al Sha'aby political coalition held the government responsible for the incident, and demanded more effective preventative measures against terrorism, "especially since similar incidents have been recurring the past few years". It also demanded the arrest of the criminals and their appearance in court. "Violence will not affect Egyptians' unity... Egyptians will bypass it," the coalition said in a Saturday statement in which it offered its condolences. Al-Dostour Party offered condolences to the families of the killed military men, and in Sunday statement called on authorities to arrest those responsible for the "cowardly criminal attack on soldiers carrying out their duty". This is the second time this border checkpoint has been targeted in two months, as six military personnel were killed in a previous attack in May.
