Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Sisi has named a new chief of staff of the armed forces in the midst of an ongoing battle against extremist insurgents.

In a decree issued Saturday, Sisi named Lt. Gen. Mohamed Farid Hegazy to replace Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy as the country's new military chief, with the latter being named as Presidential Adviser for Strategic Planning and Crisis Management.

Mahmoud Hegazy had also served as the chairman of a contact group for Libya, among other roles, and the government's point man for managing Egypt's role in arbitrating between factions of that troubled country.

Due to the influence exercised by the military in the North African country, the position of army chief is seen as one of Egypt's top posts.

No reason was given for the shuffling of roles between the two men, who are not related.

Egyptian forces are currently battling extremists allied with Daesh in the northern Sinai peninsula, while also facing insurgents from neighboring Libya in the country's western desert region.