CAIRO: A semblance of calm was restored to the Northern Sinai city of Al-Arish on Monday as security officers brought together leaders from two Sinai tribes for talks after two days of clashes between the tribes. Clashes between the Bedouin Tarabeen tribe and the Fawakhriya of Al-Arish escalated into full scale riots as city dwellers raged against security forces for not protecting them from the attacks. "We reached an agreement yesterday for a meeting to be held, Sheikh Musa Al-Dilh Tribal elder and spokesman for the Bedouin, who hails from the Tarabeen tribe, told Daily News Egypt. "We didn't stop our efforts and let me be clear, this was all a dispute between individuals, not between tribes. The meeting was held at Al-Arish Central Police Headquarters Monday afternoon and Al-Dilh also met with Fawakhriya leaders later that night for inter-tribal talks on tempering the situation. Sunday saw the deployment of some 15,000 central security forces in Northern Sinai, but that did not stop angry residents from attacking the ruling National Democratic Party headquarters yesterday. Stones were also thrown at the Ministry of Interior's building in the area. Tear gas was thrown at the protestors and some 200 Bedouin and 300 Fawakhriya were arrested, according to Tagammu party member Hussein El Qayem. El Qayem painted a picture of a lawless place where everybody is armed and security forces do not intervene to restore order. "Weapons have become normal here, he told Daily News Egypt, "they come from Upper Egypt and used to be smuggled to Hamas through tunnels with the blessing of security forces. Now, security forces have prohibited the arms dealers from sending the weapons to Hamas, so they have allowed them to be sold to Sinai residents. "Things are quiet now, El Qayem added, "[but previously] the security did not get involved and let the tribes attack each other. The conflict began on Saturday when a dispute between members of the Tarabeen and Fawakhriya escalated into shootings in Fawakhriya square in Al-Arish. Tensions between Sinai Bedouins and townspeople are not new, as the Bedouins feel shortchanged by being left out of the tourism boom in the governorate and complain of mistreatment at the hands of security forces. Al-Dilh said "what happened escalated the issue greatly and this has repercussions on everybody, Bedouin or otherwise. In the past, we could solve our disputes amongst ourselves, but the presence of security forces has now added to the equation. Tensions also exist between the Bedouins and security forces, as the tribes feel the government has been very heavy-handed in its approach, especially since the it blamed Bedouins with links to militant Islamic groups for the Sinai bombings in 2004 and 2005. "We Bedouins took a hit to our reputation after the bombings, Al-Dilh said, "and we want to make it clear that the Bedouins were wronged in these events. The first thing our grandfathers taught us was to offer peace to the world.
