Egypt says Syrians will now require visas to enter the country

Islam Times - The Egyptian authorities have started imposing travel restrictions on Syrian citizens, and they are now required to obtain visas before arriving in the country.

On Monday, Egyptian airport officials began enforcing the new measure, which they said was taken after reports that a large number of the Syrians living in the country were supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and were involved in the deadly unrest rocking the nation.


Egypt is the headquarters of the foreign-backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC), which is opposed to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the move will cause difficulties for the group.


On the same day, a key Syrian opposition leader, Haitham al-Maleh, issued a statement saying that he was also denied entry into Egypt.


On Monday, at least 51 people were killed in clashes between the security forces and Morsi supporters.


On July 5, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood activists and their supporters took to the streets across the country to protest against the coup that deposed Morsi, and clashes broke out between pro-Morsi and opposition protesters and security forces that left 36 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.


Earlier in the day, Muslim Brotherhood supreme leader Mohammed Badie said the military coup against Egypt’s first democratically elected president was illegal and millions would remain on the street until Morsi was reinstated as president.


In a televised speech on the night of July 3, Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced that Morsi was no longer in office and declared that the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour, had been appointed as the new interim president of Egypt.


The army also suspended the constitution.


Army officials said Morsi was being held “preventively” by the military and might face formal charges over accusations made by his opponents.


Mansour was sworn in as interim president in a ceremony in Cairo on July 4 and vowed to “preserve the system of the republic, and respect the constitution and law, and guard the people’s interests.”