With the assistance of a large number of local tribal members fighting alongside the Egyptian army, Egyptian authorities have expanded their coordination with the tribes when confronting armed organizations in the Sinai Peninsula.
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Local Activism in post-2011 Egypt
Various forms of local activism in Egypt are challenging the shortcomings in local governance and the lack of any developmental urban vision. This paper examines three examples from different neighbourhoods in Giza and Cairo. All three share the goal of resisting exclusionary policies while trying to overcome the absence of political …
Read More »TIMEP Brief: Sinai Tribes in Egypt’s War on Terror
Egypt’s war on terror has intersected in many ways with the engagement of Sinai’s Bedouin tribespeople, who number about 250,000 in the region: Bedouin have been not only the victims and perpetrators of terror violence in the province but active participants in combating it.
Read More »TIMEP Brief: Sectarian Violence
While sectarian violence in Egypt became of more pressing international concern after a series of deadly attacks by Egyptian militants (including those affiliated with the Islamic State), the issue is longstanding and pervasive. Sectarian violence has been perpetrated by non-state militant groups, by the state itself, and by Egyptian citizens, …
Read More »Egypt says security forces kill 11 militants in Sinai
CAIRO (AP) – Egypt’s official news agency says security forces killed at least 11 suspected militants in a shootout in the northern Sinai Peninsula. MENA quoted an unnamed security official Wednesday as saying that the fighting erupted when forces raided a hideout in the city of al-Arish. It says security …
Read More »Securing Coptic churches: The necessary role of the scouts
Police personnel stand behind riot shields, machine guns slung over their shoulders, at the entrance to a narrow street connecting the corniche to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the oldest in Warraq, a working class neighborhood in northern Cairo where a sizable Coptic community lives. On celebration days, …
Read More »Should Egypt arm Sinai tribes to confront extremists?
In the wake of the worst terrorist attack in Egypt’s history, Sinai tribesmen have begun calling on the government to arm them so they can help counter further such actions. The Nov. 24 bomb and shooting attack — thought to have been carried out by Wilayat Sinai, an Islamic State (IS) affiliate — at a Sufi mosque in the Bedouin village …
Read More »North Sinai Sawarka Tribe Asks to Fight Alongside Egyptian Army Against Militants
In the wake of the gruesome attack on a mosque in the Bir al-Abd village in North Sinai on November 24, one of the peninsula’s largest and most powerful tribes has declared its willingness to help Egypt’s army to fight terrorist groupings in the region.
Read More »Sinai mosque attack backfires as tribes call for mobilisation
The massacre of 309 people at a packed North Sinai mosque on Friday has pointed to Egypt’s failing security policies in the face of a widening militant insurgency, although its very brutality could open the way for tribal forces to take a leading role in defeating IS in Sinai, analysts …
Read More »Union of Sinai Tribes Calls for ‘Revenge’ to Combat Terrorism: Statement
The Union of Sinai Tribes has released a statement condemning Friday’s deadly attack on a mosque in North Sinai while reaffirming they will take ‘revenge’ in the fight against terrorism.
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