Egypt's el-Sissi appoints new armed forces chief of staff

CAIRO – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has named a new chief of staff of the armed forces.

In a decree issued Saturday, el-Sissi named Lt. Gen. Mohamed Farid Hegazy to replace Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy as the country's new military chief, with the latter being named as Presidential Adviser for Strategic Planning and Crisis Management.

Mahmoud Hegazy had also served as the chairman of a contact group for Libya, among other roles, and the government's point man for managing Egypt's role in arbitrating between factions of that troubled country.

No reason was given for the shuffling of roles between the two men, who are not related.