Egypt's Sisi in Sudan after Africa "terrorism" warning

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi landed in Islamist neighbour Sudan today for what an analyst said would be an attempt to shore up a regional alliance against Islamic "terrorism".
The official SUNA news agency said Sisi was "on a short visit to hold talks with President (Omar) al-Bashir."
About 300 Islamists protested the visit outside a downtown Khartoum mosque, a witness said.
Sisi arrived a day after he told the African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea that the continent must reinforce cooperation to face a "plague" of cross-border terrorist groups.
He took a similar message to Algeria on Wednesday during his first foreign trip since his election in May.

"Egypt, the Gulf countries and now Algeria -- Egypt is trying to build a regional alliance to fight Islamic terrorism," University of Khartoum political scientist Safwat Fanous said.

Egypt jointly ruled Sudan with Britain until 1956. Sisi, while he was still army chief, toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July. Sisi then won the May presidential poll by a landslide after crushing the opposition.
Egypt designated Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement a terrorist organisation in December and its members have been subjected to a crackdown which has left more than 1,400 people dead and at least 15,000 jailed.
Saudi Arabia also declared the Brotherhood a "terrorist" organisation, and it is banned in many Gulf countries.

Sudan is close to regionally-isolated Qatar, which was accused of backing groups like the Brotherhood.
Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited Sudan in April and pledged 1 billion USD to help boost cash-strapped Khartoum's hard currency reserves.
Sudan has a debt of more than 40 billion USD, much of it in arrears, and has been under American sanctions since 1997.
Adding to the country's isolation, diplomatic and other sources said in March that major European and Saudi banks had stopped dealing with Sudan.
The country has been plagued by inflation, a declining currency and lack of reserves since South Sudan separated three years ago with most of Sudan's oil production.

Egypt's political turmoil that began with the ouster of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 has had a ruinous effect on its economy, although Gulf states have pledged billions in support for Cairo since Morsi's ouster.
Sisi, however, is unlikely to have any financial aid to offer Sudan.