In the wake of the gruesome attack on a mosque in the Bir al-Abd village in North Sinai on November 24, one of the peninsula’s largest and most powerful tribes has declared its willingness to help Egypt’s army to fight terrorist groupings in the region. In a statement issued on Saturday, the Sawarka tribe – one of three main tribes in North Sinai – said that it supports President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and that it has full confidence in the army’s ability to bring security and stability to the peninsula, while also offering to enlist members of the tribe to participate in combatting militant groups there. “We declare that all the capabilities of our men are at the disposal of the Armed Forces Command for the duration of the mandate of the supreme commander of the Armed Forces,” the statement read, referring to an order issued last week by the President stipulating that the army should stabilize North Sinai within a three-month period. The statement comes little over a week after a terrorist attack against North Sinai’s al-Rawda mosque killed over 300 people after gunmen opened fire on worshippers and…
North Sinai Sawarka Tribe Asks to Fight Alongside Egyptian Army Against Militants
December 4, 2017
