Newly-appointed Interior Minister Magdi Abdel-Ghaffar selected 25 new commanders to head various top security posts in a major shake-up of the country’s police force, a ministry statement said late Friday.
The changes included appointing aides for national security and security on the Sinai Peninsula, where militant groups have killed scores of police officers and soldiers.
Police commanders in several governorates and cities, including the capital city of Cairo, were also changed.
On Thursday, Abdel-Ghaffar was appointed as the new interior minister after his predecessor, Mohamed Ibrahim, was removed in a cabinet reshuffle.
Ibrahim, who was originally appointed during a cabinet reshuffle in January 2013, has been massively criticized for having a major role in Egypt’s heavy-handed crackdown on the opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood.