Life returns to Sinai town after anti-militant drive
el arish — With fruit and vegetables aplenty in the markets, public transport back on the roads and universities reopened, life is returning to El Arish in North Sinai state where Egypt’s army is at war with militants.
During an army-organised visit for foreign media, the city’s streets showed telltale signs of fighting in the “Sinai 2018” operation launched by the military on February 9. Roadblocks stood at several locations.
According to official figures, most than 200 militants and over 30 soldiers have been killed since the start of the campaign.
President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi ordered the operation, launched almost three months after more than 300 people died in a devastating attack on a Sinai mosque some 40 kilometres from El Arish.
Military operations restricted many aspects of everyday life for the 225,000 residents of the city, in particular their freedom of movement.
“We restarted classes on June 21,” student Alaa Abdul Ati said with an enthusiastic smile.
Abir, a colleague, chimed in that shared taxi services were back in El Arish and gone were the long queues for food products.
Since the army toppled Egypt’s president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks in the Sinai by militants and other extremist groups. “With the improvement in the security situation, life is starting to go back to more or less normal,” a senior army official told journalists.
Other military commanders said curbs on freedom of movement were being relaxed, such as leaving El Arish between Thursday and Saturday, the weekend in Egypt, without written authorisation. Fuel rationing will continue, however, “to limit the movements of the takfiris”, said North Sinai governor Abdel Fattah AlHarhur, using the official term for Sunni Muslim extremists. The governor said the easing of security measures would run in parallel with a government programme to improve health, and education services. —