ISMAILIA - Thirty Egyptian tribes based in Sinai said on Sunday they would confront militant groups including an Islamic State affiliate that has killed hundreds of soldiers and police, in a possible boost to Egypt's efforts to improve security.
The Sinai Tribal Federation said it had held its first meeting on Sunday to discuss ways to tackle militants seeking to topple the US-backed Cairo government. It would work "in coordination with the relevant agencies and institutions of the formal state ... to support the state and the armed forces in their war against terrorism," the alliance said in a statement.
| Apparently the ISIS has upset lots of people in the Sinai. Can't bode well for them, or for Hamas... |
An insurgency based in the Sinai Peninsula has intensified since 2013, when then-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi removed president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood from power following mass protests against his rule.
The tribal federation agreed to form two groups of youth volunteers, one of which would help security forces gather information on suspected militants or their supporters and monitor routes used to smuggle weapons. The second would participate in the military campaign alongside Egypt's armed forces, among the biggest in the Middle East, the statement said.
| I'm a little surprised that Sisi, a thug (a relatively benign and clear thinking thug but still a thug) would allow a paramilitary group that isn't under tight control. That sort of thing has a way of getting away from thugs, and at the worst possible time -- for the thug... |
It was not immediately clear why the tribes in Sinai, a strategic peninsula bordering Israel, Gaza and the Suez Canal, had now decided to weigh in behind a central government that they have accused of marginalizing them in the past.
| Because they don't like being killed by ISIS? Just a guess that has eluded our J-Post reporter... |
Security sources say that in the past few weeks, the Sinai Province jihadist group, which supports the Syrian and Iraqi-based Islamic State, has executed prominent members of the tribes.
| Oh! Oh! Oh! Could that possibly be it? Let's ask the Op-Ed writer at J-Post! |
A war of words between the two sides has escalated, with militants saying they would expand their attacks.
Tribal revenge is a way of life in the Sinai; tribal leaders have threatened to respond and have captured some Sinai Province members and handed them over to the army.
| That would be the kindest thing they could do to those they capture... |
Sisi, who is now Chief Thug for Life president, has weakened the Muslim Brotherhood with a tough crackdown on what was once one of the Middle East's best organized political groups.
But he has been less successful in suppressing Sinai's militants, who still carry out attacks against soldiers and police despite constant pressure from the military. Sisi has also expressed concern about the threat from militants, including some professing loyalty to Islamic State, who are thriving in the chaos of neighboring Libya, to the west.
Although tribal support for security forces is a vote of confidence in the state, long-term backing may hinge on the creation of jobs and better services in Sinai.
| There commences the usual progressive hand-wringing that one can find even in Israel... |
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