By Ashraf Sadek: CAIRO, July 12, 2018 - Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid, the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Thursday asserted that the heroes of the Armed Forces were exerting great efforts to fight terrorism in Northern and Central Sinai. During a surprise visit to the Third Field Army troops in Central Sinai, Lt. Gen. Farid noted that the Armed Forces were undertaking the task of securing and protecting the nation on all axial directions not only the Sinai. During his meeting with the unit commanders, Lt. Gen. Farid referred to efforts and sacrifices made by the Armed Forces. Tribal chiefs of Central and Northern Sinai attended the meeting. The visit came within the framework of Lt. Gen. Farid's keenness on following up the progress of the comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018 now being carried out across the country. He ordered the commanders to maintain the highest level of preparedness to swiftly and effectively thwart any action or plot aiming at undermining Egypt's national security. Earlier, Lt. Gen. Farid inspected the army combat units, formations and land patrols that were assigned to defend and secure Northern and Central Sinai. He praised the high capabilities and efficiency of the troops and their efforts to precisely hit terrorist targets and eliminate the terrorists in Central and Northern Sinai, where a comprehensive counter-terrorism operation had been going on since February 9. From a command centre in Central Sinai, Lt. Gen. Farid, who followed-up the progress of the operation activities, reiterated to the commanders in charge of the army units the importance of up-keeping the morale of troops and ensuring that they received proper sustenance and administrative backup. He also discussed with commanders their anti-terrorism plans and ways of maintaining Sinai's safety.
