AP, Cairo :
Egypt’s powerful intelligence chief, a longtime mentor of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, was removed and replaced by his deputy, security officials said Saturday
Gen. Mohammed Farid el-Tohamy, in his mid 60s, was seen as a hardliner in the government crackdown against Islamists and secular dissidents.
El-Tohamy was put in charge of the general intelligence agency immediately after el-Sissi, then head of the military, led the ouster of the elected President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 following massive protests against his Islamist government.
El-Tohamy was el-Sissi’s mentor when they both served in military intelligence under longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. El-Tohamy went on to head one of the most important government financial watchdog agencies, the Administrative Control Authority, where he served until 2012 when Morsi replaced him. Two days after Morsi’s ouster, el-Tohamy was named intelligence chief.
It is not clear if el-Tohamy’s removal reflects a change in policy. However, it removes one of the most senior hawkish voices in el-Sissi’s administration.
Egypt’s powerful intelligence chief, a longtime mentor of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, was removed and replaced by his deputy, security officials said Saturday
Gen. Mohammed Farid el-Tohamy, in his mid 60s, was seen as a hardliner in the government crackdown against Islamists and secular dissidents.
El-Tohamy was put in charge of the general intelligence agency immediately after el-Sissi, then head of the military, led the ouster of the elected President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 following massive protests against his Islamist government.
El-Tohamy was el-Sissi’s mentor when they both served in military intelligence under longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. El-Tohamy went on to head one of the most important government financial watchdog agencies, the Administrative Control Authority, where he served until 2012 when Morsi replaced him. Two days after Morsi’s ouster, el-Tohamy was named intelligence chief.
It is not clear if el-Tohamy’s removal reflects a change in policy. However, it removes one of the most senior hawkish voices in el-Sissi’s administration.