Egypt's Sisi names new armed forces chief of staff, defence minister

CAIRO (Reuters) -Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi named a new chief of staff for the armed forces on Wednesday, after replacing the defence minister in his newly formed cabinet, as tensions with neighbouring Israel grow with the Gaza war on Egypt's eastern border.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathy Khalifa replaced Lieutenant General Osama Askar, the chief of staff since 2021. Askar is now Sisi's presidential adviser on military affairs.

General Abdel Majeed Saqr, the former governor of Suez, a strategic province in north-eastern Egypt, became the new defence minister.

Mohamed Zaki, who had held that role since 2018, is now presidential adviser for defence affairs.

The resignation of the previous cabinet was announced a month ago after Sisi began his third term in April. He reappointed Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, whose new cabinet was sworn in on Wednesday.

The new cabinet's tasks include preserving Egypt's national security and counter-terrorism, the presidency said last month.

(Reporting by Mohamed Wali, Writing by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Nadine Awadalla, Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang)