CAIRO
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday defended his country's recent airstrikes against the targets of a militant group in neighboring Libya and lauded financial support from oil-rich Gulf countries.
"Our army does not commit aggressions against anybody," al-Sisi said in a recorded televised address to the nation.
"We did not invade another country, but were defending the Egyptian people," he added.
Egypt sent its fighter jets to neighboring Libya on Feb. 16 to strike targets of a group affiliated with the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), only hours after the militants posted a video showing the beheading of 20 Egyptian Christians it had kidnapped in the restive North African country earlier.
Al-Sisi said the strikes targeted 13 ISIL sites in Libya, noting that the Egyptian military had thoroughly considered and gathered enough information about the targets.
The strikes had produced an outcry and support both inside Egypt and Libya, where hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are working.
Al-Sisi defied reports about civilian casualties among strike fatalities, saying his county had aborted a strike against a group of terrorists a few months ago because there were civilians and children nearby.
He outlined the need for a unified Arab military force, given the challenges facing the Arab region at present.
"We will overcome these challenges when we are together," al-Sisi said.
Gulf support
Al-Sisi, again, thanked Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait for huge financial support since the army, then led by al-Sisi, ousted elected President Mohamed in July of 2013.
Between them, the three wealthy countries have sent billions of dollars to the new Egyptian regime as a sign of support following Morsi's ouster.
Al-Sisi insisted that the Gulf support had helped Egypt overcome the challenges that faced it in the following months.
Apparently referring to recent alleged leaks including insults to Gulf states, al-Sisi said nothing would succeed in sowing tension between Egypt and the Gulf.
Al-Sisi recalled that when he took over the presidency seven months ago, Egypt's membership in the African Union was frozen and many countries were still on the dark about political developments in the country.
The Peace and Security Council of the African Union froze Egypt's activities soon after the ouster of Morsi.
Al-Sisi said, however, that Egyptian efforts succeeded in bringing his country back to the African fold.
He said he also paid visits to Sudan, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea in a bid to improve relations between his country and these African states.
He pledged to release from jail – in the light of his constitutional mandate – some youths imprisoned in the past months.
Al-Sisi said the first group of these youths would be released within the next few days after their files had been properly studied.
Referring to an investment conference that would be organized in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh in March, he said his government would approve a new investment law in the days to come and present investors attending the conference with a host of projects, including ones within the Suez Canal area.
Egypt's government is hoping that the conference will bring some of the needed investment.
