CAIRO: A shootout on the road leading to Al-Oja crossing in Sinai on Monday between security forces and armed Bedouins caused injuries to at least two passersby. After security forces raided the village of Wadi Amr near the crossing at dawn in search of Bedouins wanted by the state or tried in absentia, a group of them held up the road leading to Al-Oja crossing. Security forces converged and the two sides exchanged gunfire, which mainly hit truck drivers caught in the crossfire. The two injuries were sustained by drivers passing by. Sources in the area told Daily News Egypt that the crossing remained closed up until press time as a result of the shootout and that the authorities had not arrested any of those who held up the road. The two injured were Sayed Sayed Ahmed and Sameh Suleiman Mohamed who received gunshots in their arms and legs and were transported to Al-Arish Hospital for treatment. North Sinai journalist and activist Mustapha Singer told Daily News Egypt that the state's decision to raid the village angered the wanted Bedouins and caused them to shut down the road to Al-Oja in retaliation. Singer said, “Those wanted by the state do not want to hand themselves over to the interior ministry; they want their case files transferred to the military intelligence branch because they feel the ministry reneges on promises and is handling the issue in the wrong manner with the large-scale raids on towns and villages.” The main suspect state forces seek is Salem Ali Salem, known as Salem Abu Lafi, a man who escaped from police clutches last February during his transfer to another prison, an incident which led to the death of two policeman. It occurred during a prisoner transfer from Ismailiya to Al-Arish. Armed Bedouins in three cars attacked the bus in an area called Be'er El-Abd, killing officer Ahmed Osama Hafez, an officer in the criminal division unit of North Sinai, and a policeman while two other policemen were wounded. Abu Lafi, who was serving a three-year sentence for the possession of illegal arms, and Hassan Abdel Fatah, the prisoner he was cuffed with, managed to escape during the shootout as police apprehended the rest of the prisoners.
