Syrian authorities arrest Egyptian in Syria calling for ouster of al-Sisi

Ahmed al-Mansour, an Egyptian Islamist militant in Syria who recently launched on online campaign calling for the toppling of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been detained in Damascus by Syria’s new authorities, Reuters reports. 

"This (arrest) is a signal to Cairo, which sees this issue as extremely important," an Arab security source that confirmed the arrest told Reuters.

Al-Mansour’s widely shared videos urging a revolution against al-Sisi using the hashtag “it’s your turn, Dictator” reportedly rattled al-Sisi.

On January 11^th, he reportedly posted a photo of himself in front of a banner for a newly formed group called the "Revolutionaries of January 25,", a reference to the uprising that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Egyptian security forces denied requesting his arrest but told Reuters they had expressed concerns through third party countries. 

Since the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian state media has been sounding alarm bells about revolutionary fervor spreading to Egypt.

The arrest of al-Mansour comes as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that toppled Assad, tries to reassure the international community that Syria will not become a hotbed for Islamic extremists.