A growing number of sources have claimed that armed groups have made camp in
the area

Number of Jihadists in Sinai on the rise
04/08/2012 By Yousri Mohammed
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=30581

Al Arish, Asharq Al-Awsat- Various prominent figures in the Middle East have
expressed their concerns of the apparent imminent danger displayed by
combatant groups moving to the Sinai Peninsula situated in Egypt. A popular
destination amongst Israeli tourists, the Netanyahu administration was among
those who issued out a warning urging Israeli’s to return to their homes and
avoid the rising the danger of the region.

Fears over the safety of visitors to the peninsula aren’t unfounded. The
Sinai bombings of 2004 targeted tourist hotels and killed 34 whilst injuring
171. The Israeli Prime Minister previously aired his concerns over what he
believed to be the “lawlessness” state Sinai was descending into which
contrasted greatly to the three decades of peace the country held with
Egypt. In response to this, Arab critics have said the current unease and
rising tensions act as a motive for Israel to step into the Sinai region and
“achieve its ambitions under the pretext of the deteriorating security
conditions”.

A growing number of sources have claimed that armed groups have made camp in
the area, which resulted from the fall of the Mubarak’s government causing a
lack of adequate security and creating a safe haven for groups with extreme
Islamists fundamentalist values. According to informed members of the
Egyptian security forces, Sinai’s lack of military personal allows such
groups to build upon their resources and plan their attacks without fear of
being roused. Further information has unearthed that if they are not stopped
soon, their growing array of nationalities and expertise will propel them to
be a frightening brunt. This appears to already be underway if the reports
that they are in the possession of smuggled weaponry, en route from Libya
and Sudan, are held to be true.

Many residents of Rafah, a prominent city located in North Sinai, have come
forth with their accounts. They claimed that the groups are attracting young
men with the promises of riches and, in some cases, paying for their
marriages. Such a view of these young men doesn’t adhere with the previous
notion presented to the world of the young Middle Eastern liberals who set
and carried the protests in their countries. However, the danger felt by the
Sinai community suggests that the tides have turned and the men have found
another battle against perceived injustice to fight. On the other hand,
reports have suggested that many of these men are escaped prisoners; their
freedom gained amidst the chaos created by the revolution and greatly adding
to their threat.

Egyptian political figures have contributed to the matter, the majority
believing that these groups are exploiting the country’s current fragile
“loose state in which they come and do whatever they want”. Indeed they,
some of which have been identified to be Palestinian organisations, have not
been particularly guarded with their intensions. Such groups as “the
Mujahadeen Shura Council” have recently posted a video on the internet
horrifically boasting of their targets near the Egyptian border with Israel
and claiming that such actions are “a gift to our brothers” in other similar
extremist groups. Similarly, another Jihadist organisation took
responsibility for the calculated bombing of the main gas pipeline which
supplied gas to the “Zionist Entity’. What these groups hold in common is
the adherent view that they must eradicate infidels, in other words
non-Muslims. This is further evidenced by the horrendous suicide bombings
carried out by the Jihad Group, also believed to be situated in Sinai, in
the Israeli and US embassies in the capital city of Uzbekistan. The attacks
killed at least nine people whilst wounding many more.

However, some have been questioning the credibility of the danger posed. As
far as individuals belonging to a town predominantly occupied by the desert
dwelling Bedouin group see the fears are merely based on rumours. They have
claimed that while they have heard of the presence of militant settlements
in the deserts of Sinai, they haven’t come across them. While they cannot
yet confirm the militant existence in the area, it would appear that the
security force is depending on the Bedouin to attempt restraining the
groups. This appears to be the preferred route as opposed to armed
intervention as to ease the tension between the Bedouins and force.
Furthermore, the security forces consider armed intervention to result in
large losses that simply could not be afforded at amidst the country’s new
developments.