Jihadists claimed to have bombed a pipeline in North Sinai that carries oil into Jordan; the claim is unverified. President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said that 208 people who had “taken up arms” against security forces were killed in 2014, and almost 1,000 were arrested. Sisi also argued that freedom of expression and protest rights were secondary to the country’s basic stability. Egypt closed its embassy in Sanaa, Yemen due to security concerns.
