Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said Thursday his country has become "an oasis of security and stability" under his rule, amid reports of a new clampdown on dissent in the lead-up to the eighth anniversary of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising.
El-Sissi, who became president in 2014, spoke at the annual ceremony celebrating Police Day, which falls on Jan. 25. That's the same date that thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to begin a sweeping revolt that forced longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak to step down in 2011.
Meanwhile, human rights activists have complained that authorities are randomly stopping people in downtown Cairo, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising, for fear that similar demonstrations could erupt.