CAIRO: Egyptian forces have killed 30 extremists during several days of security operations in the Sinai Peninsula involving the army, air force and police, the military said Saturday.
The Egyptian authorities are battling an insurgency by the Daesh group in North Sinai that has killed hundreds of members of the security forces.
The military did not specify to which group the 30 extremists belonged but described them as “extremely dangerous.”
Five others were arrested as Egyptian forces imposed a “tight siege” on the North Sinai provincial capital El-Arish and the cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, a military statement said.
Egypt has struggled to quash attacks led by Daesh whose local branch is based in North Sinai, after the army ousted Islamist president Muhammad Mursi in 2013.
The bombing by Daesh of a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from a South Sinai resort in 2015 killed all 224 people on board and severely damaged the country’s tourism sector.
Egypt kills 30 extremists in Sinai: military
Egypt kills 30 extremists in Sinai: military
Arab League chief ‘deeply concerned’ over Yemen tensions
- Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit calls for solidarity among Yemen’s supporters, condemns southern separatist’s military operations
LONDON: The head of the Arab League on Tuesday said he is deeply concerned over escalating tensions in Yemen and called for solidarity among countries supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
His comments came after the military coalition that backs Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council carried out a “limited airstrike” targeting weapons and military vehicles it said were destined for southern separatist forces.
The shipments arrived in the Yemeni port of Mukalla on board two vessels from Fujairah in the UAE.
Saudi Arabia, a key member of the military coalition, criticized the UAE over its support for the separatists, known as the Southern Transitional Council.
The Kingdom said that any threat to its national security was a red line and that the UAE should follow the Yemeni government’s request to remove its forces from the country within 24 hours.
The UAE later announced it would withdraw its remaining counter-terrorism units from Yemen.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed deep concern over the “serious and rapidly unfolding developments in Yemen.”
He called for solidarity among all countries supporting the Yemeni government and to exercise restraint.
He also condemned any military action aimed at “forcibly entrenching a secessionist reality on the ground, in a manner that threatens Yemen’s territorial unity.”
The STC, which wants a separate state in southern Yemen, seized large areas of territory in Hadramout and Al-Mahara provinces in recent weeks.
The STC is meant to be part of a coalition with the Yemeni government opposed to Houthi militants that control the north of the country.
Aboul Gheit said the southern Yemen issue must be addressed through dialogue.
The measures taken by Saudi Arabia and the military coalition were “vital to ensuring peace, security, and the unity of the Yemeni people under their internationally recognized leadership,” said Muslim World League Secretary-General Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa.
“Supporting illegitimate practices only deepens internal divisions and serves those who do not have Yemen’s best interests at heart,” he said.
