Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Friday there was no cause for concern over protests against his rule that are planned for later in the day. “There are no reasons for concern. Egypt is a strong country thanks to Egyptians,” he told reporters with a smile, shortly after his return from the UN General Assembly in New York. Rare protests against Sisi’s rule erupted last week in Cairo and other major cities, prompting a crackdown that has seen nearly 2,000 arrests, according to Human Rights Watch. They were triggered by viral videos from exiled Egyptian businessman Mohamed Aly accusing the president of building lavish palaces while taxpayers grapple with the impact of austerity under an IMF loan programme totalling $12 billion. In defiance of a years-long ban on demonstrations, Aly has called for further protests on Friday in Egyptian cities, where security forces have stepped up their presence in recent days. “The case does not deserve all” this attention, Sisi said. “It is an attempt to create an image that is absolutely not real,” he added, without elaborating on this point. “Do not listen to what they say. Do not believe them,” he urged, without naming those responsible for calling the protests against him.