Key Things to know about Sinai Insurgency

Sinai Peninsula has a great geopolitical importance due to its strategic location between Suez Canal and Arabian Peninsula. It a vital link between Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Sinai Peninsula which is divided into governorates, has a long history of smuggling and weapons trade but was initially dominated by the Sufist thought before jihadist sentiments took birth. There was always a lack of security presence in the area which gave liberty to militants to operate freely. The local populations of Bedouin community that are deeply rooted in tribal culture have been largely devoid of resources and have been discriminated against by the ruling government. It was the ousting of Egypt’s dictator, Hosni Mubarak in 2011, that created a severe security vacuum in the Senai peninsula. The insurgency was ignited by the Islamist militants, who took advantage of the political chaos by launching multiple and serial attacks on the government forces. Egypt saw no rest after that. In 2013 again, the abductions of government officers and finally after the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi led to the worst forms of violence on the streets of Egypt between the security forces and the militants. Militants have got coordination from local Bedouin population who have their own justified woes against the government. Militants have attacked state infrastructure, Arab gas pipeline between Egypt and Israel officers etc. There is heavy trafficking in humans, drugs and weapons etc.

2014, saw the furthering of ambitions of the Sinai militants as the group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis (ABM- a Salafi jihadi terrorist outfit)has declared their allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and proclaimed themselves as the Islamic Province of Sinai. However, unlike ISIS, the insurgents at Sinai don’t own or rule over any territory. Government has been harsh on peninsula people by actually not serving any security forces to them and also completely marginalising them from the mainstream economy of Egypt. In addition, the international media has been banned from all over Sinai which makes first-hand reporting virtually impossible. There is a big information gap which is widening and worrying as the experts are finding it hard to decipher the course of insurgents will pursue under the newly acquired blanket name of ISIS. One inference is that the militants will widen their targets beyond Egyptian army.