Egypt: After Assad's fall, Sisi warns of ‘chaos and destruction’ in propaganda video

An Egyptian intelligence-owned television channel released a propaganda video on Sunday of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi warning that Syria has been destroyed and unnamed forces are attempting to do the same in Egypt.

The video, a compilation of old speeches by Sisi, comes in the aftermath of the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

On 8 December, rebels advanced into the capital, Damascus, ending more than 50 years of authoritarian rule by the Assad dynasty. 

"Pay attention, their mission in Syria is complete," Sisi said in the video, broadcast by ON, a channel operated by United Media Services, a company owned by the Egyptian intelligence services.

"They have already destroyed Syria," he continued, adding: "Their goal is to bring down the Egyptian state."

Sisi became president in 2014, a year after he led a coup against his democratically-elected predecessor Mohamed Morsi, who died in custody in 2019 due to medical negligence. 

Sisi's decade of rule has been marked by what Human Rights Watch and other rights groups described as the country's worst human rights crisis in modern history, with over 60,000 political prisoners and thousands believed to be forcibly disappeared. 

Sisi has imposed a virtual ban on protests and dissent over the past decade, and repeatedly criticised the 2011 pro-democracy revolution as a conspiracy to dismantle the Egyptian state and divide the country. 

"They know that if Egypt falls, chaos will spread around the whole world," Sisi said in the ON TV clip.

"That's why all efforts are being made to undermine the Egyptian economy and social peace."

Sisi then vows to protect Egypt from such efforts.

"I say again and hope everyone understands this message, we will not hesitate to protect our nation from evil and its people. 

"We are protecting our people and the national security of Egypt. Whoever threatens our security, we will confront them using the appropriate means."

Following the fall of Assad, Sisi held a briefing with media and public figures in which he alluded to developments in Syria, saying that it is unlikely that Egypt would witness the same. 

"There are two things I haven't done: my hand has not been tainted with anyone's blood and neither has it taken anyone's money," he said in a video that went viral last week.

"As long as Egyptians are united, with their army and police forces, no one will be able to do anything." 

Crackdown on Syrians

Following the departure of Assad on 8 December, many Syrian refugees in Egypt took to the streets in spontaneous celebrations.

However, Egyptian security forces quickly dispersed the gatherings and detained around 30 Syrians, according to an Egyptian rights group.

On Monday, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said that three of those detained are now facing deportation to Syria. 

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya reported last week that Egypt has imposed new visa restrictions on Syrians.

Syrians holding European or American visas now require an additional security permit to enter Egypt, according to the report.