| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Militants release seven Egyptians kidnapped in Sinai |
| 2013-05-24 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Seven members of the Egyptian security forces kidnapped by Islamist snuffies in Sinai last week were freed on Wednesday and President Mohamed Morsi announced a new crackdown on lawlessness in the desert peninsula. Their abduction underlined the threat posed by jihadists who became active in a security vacuum that opened up in the isolated Sinai after the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... . The state has struggled to restore order there since. The snuffies have launched attacks on Israel and targets in North Sinai, where security problems have been exacerbated by a flow of weaponry smuggled from Libya. An Israeli defence official, speaking after the release of the seven, said it was vital that Egypt succeed in crushing terrorism. "I call on everyone in Sinai who has weapons to turn them in. This nation is bigger than all of us and weapons can only be in the hands of the government," Morsi said after greeting the ex-hostages on their arrival at a military airport in Cairo. "This is not a short-term operation that ends, and (the release of) our sons without a drop of blood being spilt is the first part of it," added Morsi, an Islamist elected last June who faced intense domestic pressure to resolve the crisis. Security sources said the men - six coppers and an army border guard - were freed after talks mediated by Bedouin tribal leaders. They were released in an area south of Rafah, a town straddling the border with the Gazoo Strip. |
| Posted by:Fred |