Police attempts to disperse demonstrators protesting against the demolition of their homes erupt into bloody clashes, reports Serene Assir from Al-Masoura, North Sinai After Egyptian central security forces attempted to break up a demonstration staged by residents of Rafah at the nearby town of Al-Masoura on 30 July using teargas and water hoses, intense clashes broke out between Bedouin youth and hundreds of police personnel. The clashes persisted for several hours, leaving 15-year-old Bedouin Oda Mohamed Oda Arafat dead. At least 18 others were injured. According to Rafah residents, hundreds of people had arrived at Al-Masoura with the intention of staging a peaceful demonstration against plans to demolish the homes of between 3,000 and 5,000 families. Shortly afterwards riot police were deployed to break up the protest. "It was chaos. We weren't even allowed to take our stand. We, the older ones, who still intend to take the route of diplomacy, were forced out. And the young ones came in instead," Rafah resident Aref Abul-Akkar told Al-Ahram Weekly. "It's sad it should have turned violent but what is a young person supposed to do when attacked? It is natural." As well as using teargas, State Security officers at the scene fired live rounds of ammunition into the air, supposedly to disperse the protestors. "We are not shooting at them," said one officer speaking on condition of anonymity. That Arafat sustained two separate injuries from live ammunition leads many to question the credibility of the officer's statement. The majority of the injured suffered from the effects of teargas while others were hurt by rocks, thrown by Bedouin youths whose average age appeared to be less than 20. State Security forces made repeated attempts to impose control over the area and force protesters to disperse by making rapid sorties into the crowds in armoured vehicles. But the Bedouin dispersed into the desert bordering the main road only to return, with some hiding behind bushes and trees to hurl rocks at the vehicles as the police made their rounds. A police checkpoint leading to Al-Masoura was ransacked, and tyres were set alight to block off roads, according to demonstrators. About 1,000 local residents were involved, young as well as old though the majority of adults remained well behind police lines once the clashes had begun. "We are a peaceful people. But we have lived and worked on this land for hundreds of years. Our homes are our legacy," said Abul-Akkar. "What am I going to do with a compensation payment? The issue is not simply the demolition of our homes, we are being uprooted from our land. The government must search for another way to secure the area, one that will not involve dispossessing us." In response to demands that Egypt do more to secure the border with Gaza the Ministry of Defence decided earlier this month to clear the area of houses. The governments of Egypt, the US and Israel say the area is infiltrated with tunnels which Hamas uses to smuggle weapons and cash. Local residents say what tunnels exist are used mainly to smuggle consumer goods in and out of Gaza. "Some Bedouin, for lack of any other opportunities to make money, use the tunnels to export goods into Gaza, such as cheap cigarettes," said a local resident. "The government should provide jobs so that this kind of smuggling is no longer necessary. They accuse us of smuggling weapons. Even if some do engage in this why do we all have to pay the price?" Major General Salaheddine Selim, an expert in military affairs, says affected residents have been given the opportunity to have their cases reviewed on an individual basis. "Those who feel they have been unjustly included in the plan must contact the authorities so their case can be reviewed," he told the Weekly. "The demolitions are being carried out only to ensure that smuggling and infiltration stop." At the time of writing there were fears that Arafat's funeral could spark more violence. North Sinai has been the scene of growing animosity between the state and local inhabitants following the mass detention of Bedouin in the wake of the Taba bomb attacks of October 2004. "The government must rethink its strategy towards the Bedouins or else those in the area who are armed will turn it into the war that Cairo seems to be pushing for," said Hussein Al-Qayim, a local resident and Kifaya member.
