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Wednesday, April 23, 2014
US temporarily resumes military aid to Egypt amid unrest

US temporarily resumes military aid to Egypt amid unrest
Washington set to deliver 10 Apache helicopters to bolster Cairo's
counter-terrorist capabilities
Asharq Al-Awsat Wednesday, 23 Apr, 2014
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/04/article55331537

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The US has temporarily lifted an arms embargo on
Cairo to deliver 10 attack helicopters to the Egyptian government amid
reports that two police officers were killed on Wednesday as the security
situation in the country continues to deteriorate.

Washington froze some forms of military assistance to Egypt last year
following a policy review taken after the ouster of Islamist president
Mohamed Mursi and a government crackdown against the former ruling Muslim
Brotherhood. However the Obama administration agreed to temporarily resume
some arms deliveries this week, citing Egypt’s commitment to its 35-year-old
peace treaty with Israel.

“Today, [US] Secretary [of State John] Kerry spoke with Egyptian Foreign
Minister [Nabil] Fahmi to inform him that he is certifying to Congress that
Egypt is sustaining the strategic relationship with the United States,
including by countering transnational threats such as terrorism and weapons
proliferation, and that Egypt is upholding its obligations under the
Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a
statement.

Washington is preparing to send 10 Apache attack helicopters to the Egyptian
military, in addition to releasing some of the annual 1.3 billion US dollars
in military assistance annually granted to the North African state.

The Egyptian armed forces already possess several dozen such helicopters,
and has deployed them in operations against Islamist militants in the
country’s unstable Sinai peninsula.

The US–Egyptian rapprochement also sees Kerry meeting with Egypt’s new
intelligence chief in Washington on Wednesday, in addition to US Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel personally phoning Egyptian Defense Minister Gen.
Sedki Sobhi to inform him of Washington’s decision to allow the Apache
helicopter transfer.

Hagel told Sobhi that the US Secretary of State will “soon certify to
Congress that Egypt is sustaining the strategic relationship with the United
States and is meeting its obligations under the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace
Treaty,” Hagel’s spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said.

This certification is required for the US government to resume allocating
funds to Egypt.

Meanwhile, a car bomb killed a senior policeman and injured another in the
6th of October City suburb of Cairo on Wednesday morning. Local media
reported that unidentified attackers placed a homemade explosive device
under the police vehicle, killing a Central Security Forces
brigadier-general. A second police officer was killed in Alexandria during a
raid on a militant hideout on Wednesday, Alexandria Police Chief Maj. Gen.
Amin Ezzedin told state news. One suspect was killed in the shootout and
another arrested. Police seized two explosive belts, machine guns and
homemade explosives from the hideout.

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