The British Embassy in Cairo suspended on Sunday public services due to “security considerations”, according to an embassy spokesperson. “A number of security considerations have forced us to suspend our public services in Cairo,” the spokesperson said. “The decision was taken to ensure the security of the embassy and its staff.” A security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that a recently-detained suspected militant had confessed to Egyptian authorities “plans to target foreign embassies.” The embassy spokesperson told Aswat Masriya he cannot comment on such “speculations”. Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman described the decision in a press statement as a “precautionary security measure.” He added that every country is entitled to take the necessary security measures to secure the headquarters of its diplomatic missions, citing the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Egypt’s ministry of tourism stressed that the UK’s travel advice to Egypt remains unaltered, as well as that of the United States. On its foreign travel advice to Egypt page, the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises its citizens against “all travel to” North Sinai, citing a “significant increase in criminal activity and continued terrorist…
British Embassy Suspends Public Services in Egypt Over Security Concerns
December 7, 2014
