Update: Morsy names new chief of staff, intelligence chief

President Mohamed Morsy named Mohamed Refaa al-Tahtawi as his new chief of staff today. Tahtawi had been serving as the assistant foreign minister and is a former spokesperson for Al-Azhar.

The announcement comes on the heels of the news that Morsy has replaced intelligence chief Mourad Mowafy with Abdel Wahed Shehata in the wake of the recent attack on the Egypt-Israel border in Sinai, said presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali on Wednesday.

Ali also announced that Hamed Zaki has been appointed head of the presidential guard, and North Sinai Governor Abdel Wahab Mabrouk has been dismissed from his post.

Following orders to improve the central security department, Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin appointed Maged Nouh as assistant minister for central security and Osama al-Saghir as assistant minister for the Cairo security department.

Ali also announced that Hamdi Badin, commander of the military police, would be replaced.

The announcements were made on the state-run Nile News TV channel after Morsy held a meeting on Wednesday with the National Defense Council. Attendees discussed the implications of Sunday’s attack by unknown gunmen on a security checkpoint near the Egyptian-Israeli border, which killed 16 Egyptian security officers.

The National Defense Council is made up of the prime minister, the chairman of the Shura Council and the chief commander of the armed forces. Also serving on the council are the ministers of interior, foreign affairs and finance, the chief of staff of the armed forces, the intelligence service, the commanders of the navy and the air forces, the assistant defense minister, the commander of the armed forces operations, the military judiciary, the director of military intelligence and the defense ministry secretary general.

Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Anan and the commanders of the armed forces all declined to give statements after the meeting.