Egypt extends state of emergency in parts of Northern Sinai
The Egyptian government has extended the state of emergency in parts of Northern Sinai in a bid to curb the militancy in the volatile region.
The government said on Wednesday that the three-month extension will be implemented in Rafah, el-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and the surrounding areas.
The measure, which was implemented retroactively on Tuesday, was announced by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in a written decree. Nighttime curfew will also be imposed on certain parts of the restive peninsula from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
The state of emergency in Sinai started exactly a year ago and has been extended three times by three months. It came after a militant group calling itself Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis launched an attack on a checkpoint in Northern Sinai and killed more than 30 security personnel. The group later changed its name to Velayat Sinai and said it is an affiliate of Daesh, a Takfiri terrorist group operating in parts of Iraq and Syria. Attacks by the group have increased since then both in Sinai and other parts of Egypt.
In the summer of 2013, Sisi, the then head of the armed forces, led a coup that ousted Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
The Wednesday extension of the state of emergency by Sisi comes as Egyptian military and police forces have started a massive joint operation against the militants in the region. The government says it has killed hundreds of militants since the operation started on September 7.
Cairo has also tightened restrictions on the movement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave besieged by Israel which also borders the Northern Sinai.
The massive fight against militants has proven to be a major problem for Sisi as human rights organizations have criticized him for reported death of civilians in the area.
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