Egypt closes schools in Sinai towns as area inches towards open war
Local people say children's education has fallen victim to military campaign
against jihadists
Asharq Al-Awsat Friday, 21 Nov, 2014
http://www.aawsat.net/2014/11/article55338757

Ismailia, Egypt, Reuters—Egypt has indefinitely shut schools in two border
towns in northern Sinai as the army prepares to intensify a battle with
Islamist militants that turned the daily trip to lessons into a “journey of
death.”

Local people say children’s education has fallen victim while the military
stages air strikes against jihadists, who are targeting soldiers and police,
and have started beheading army informers.

“We are putting our lives at risk on a daily basis,” said Mohamed, a teacher
who lives in the town of Sheikh Zuweid. “Sometimes there is fire between
gunmen and the armed forces and sometimes stray bullets hit some of us.”

Militancy has surged in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel, Gaza and
the Suez Canal, since the army ousted former president Mohamed Mursi in
July. At least 33 security personnel were killed last month and one
Sinai-based group has pledged its loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS).

Army checkpoints dot the main roads in northern Sinai which residents fear
is turning into an all-out war zone. This made the daily school run arduous,
and dangerous if militants targeted the troops manning them. “We’ve started
calling the trip to and from school the journey of death,” said another
teacher, declining to be named.

Since the militant attacks on October 24, Egypt has imposed emergency rule
in parts of Sinai, evicted hundreds of families and demolished their homes
to create a buffer zone along the Gaza border about 220 miles (350 km)
northeast of Cairo.

The government hopes that by clearing the 1 mile-deep area of residents,
buildings and trees, it can stem the flow of arms via tunnels from Gaza to
the Sinai-based jihadists.

“The buffer zone is a principal part of the solution,” President
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said in an interview with France 24 television on
Thursday. “This should have been done years ago . . . There was an
understanding with the residents about the need for Egypt’s security.”

Not everyone agrees with him, and the heavy-handed approach is breeding
resentment among local residents who have long complained of neglect by
Cairo.

A night time curfew has brought life to a near standstill while extended
Internet and phone disruptions aimed at breaking the militant’s
communications also cause problems. Local people say they cannot even call
an ambulance to pick up casualties or inform police if they spot militants
nearby.

Ten civilians were killed in their home this week during clashes between the
army and militants. Security sources said insurgent mortars hit the house
but had earlier raised the possibility of an army air strike gone wrong.

Egyptian officials say extraordinary measures such as the school shutdown
are necessary for both national security and residents’ safety.

Schools in Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, both on the border with Gaza, would
remain closed while the army secured the surrounding areas, North Sinai
governor, General Abdel Fattah Harhour, told state news agency MENA on
Thursday.

An army spokesman declined to comment on the military’s plans or whether
they were related to the school closures. However, security sources said the
army was planning major operations in the coming days and did not want
children caught in the crossfire.

With neighboring Libya in chaos and ISIS trying to establish a cross border
“caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, Egypt is determined to regain full control of
the Sinai. But its battle is growing more complicated.

Last week, five navy seamen were wounded and eight declared missing after
what the army called a “terrorist incident” at sea. This was about 30 miles
(50 km) from Port Said, the Mediterranean entrance to the Suez Canal which
is a major international shipping route and revenue earner for Egypt.

A bomb in a Cairo suburb wounded six people around a police checkpoint on
Thursday, security sources said. This was the latest in a string of attacks
in the capital whose targets included the supreme court, foreign ministry
and Cairo University.

Militants from Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, Egypt’s most active jihadist group,
have claimed responsibility for beheading a number of Egyptians in recent
months they accused of being informants for Israeli intelligence. The group
now may be able to boost its funding, recruiting and fighting abilities by
vowing loyalty to ISIS.

Ansar released a slickly-produced video resembling those of ISIS, appearing
to claim responsibility for the October 24 suicide attacks that provoked the
Sinai crackdown. This has left rubble where some homes in Rafah once stood.

“Rafah has become a ghost town by night and military garrison by day,” said
Salem Al-Araishi, a resident. “All our memories are gone with our houses.”