The government on 20 April instructed Interior Minister Mansour el-Essawi to re-establish stability and security in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena and take necessary measures for public utilities to resume work. “Silence canot be a response to what is hapening in Qena. Cutting off roads and railway tracks, endangering public security and delaying works could not be ignored,” the Cabinet said in a statement. It added that el-Essawi was also entitled to confronting any other bids to destabilise the nation or jeopardise public facilities.