Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said on Monday that he ended the state of emergency in the country for the first time in years, the president wrote in a Facebook post.
Egypt imposed a state of emergency in April 2017 after deadly bombings of churches and has since routinely extended it at three-month intervals, despite an improved security situation.
"Egypt has become … an oasis of security and stability in the region," Sissi wrote in a Facebook post. "Hence it was decided, for the first time in years, to cancel the extension of the state of emergency in all areas of the country."
The state of emergency granted authorities sweeping powers to make arrests and crackdowns on what they call "enemies of the state."
Egypt's security forces have also been battling an insurgency by militants linked to Islamic State in northern Sinai, although they have recently consolidated their position in the area.
