Egypt FM: No intention to declare jihad in Syria

Egypt's newly-appointed Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi said Saturday that there was no intention in Egypt to send fighters to Syria for "jihad" against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Speaking at his first news conference since assuming the post four days ago, Fahmi said that the June decision by ousted president Mohamed Morsi to sever diplomatic ties with Syria would be "re-examined." "There is no intention to wage jihad in Syria," Fahmi said. He went on to stress that Egypt still believed that a political solution was key to ending the ongoing crisis in the violence-torn country. On June 15, Morsi announced the severing of Egypt's diplomatic ties with Damascus, while voicing support for a no-fly zone over Syria. Shortly afterward, Egypt closed its embassy in the Syrian capital and shut down Syria's mission in Cairo. Eighteen days later, Morsi was overthrown by the army following mass demonstrations against his rule. The military also suspended the constitution and installed Adly Mansour, the head of Egypt's constitutional court, as interim president.