PRESIDENT Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi urged Middle East states at the weekend to co-operate to defeat a worsening terrorist threat that has led to a “ferocious war” in his country.

Referring to the war in Syria, Mr Sissi said: “We are very keen that Syria remains as a nation and as a state and does not divide into smaller states.”

He warned that collapse in Syria would mean that all its weapons and equipment would fall into the hands “of the terrorists.”

If that happened, the danger would spill over to its neighbours and “will pose a serious threat to the rest of the region. This is what we fear.”

The president insisted that the Egyptian military “has always been a factor for stability” and should be strengthened because it faces “a ferocious war against terrorism and extremism.

“Increasing the military capability of the Egyptian military means that it can strike a strategic balance for the region,” he said.