SINAI - Egyptian Bedouin in Sinai said Thursday they had foiled a conspiracy to poison a local man who is the most-wanted fugitive by the police. "We nabbed a young man called,Sayyed Aql who was attempting to put poison in water and tea for Bedouin fugitive Salem Abou Lafi of the el-Tarabin tribe," said Moussa el-Daleh, a spokesman for cental Sinai Bedouin tribes on Thursday. He added that Aql had admitted he had been paid LE40,000 (around $6,000) by a security official to kill Abou Lafi. "Aql also owned up that the official promised to release his father who was sentenced to 25 years in jail, and that a former MP had meddled in the affair," el-Daleh said. Abou Lafi fled a prisoner transfer truck last year after being accused of killing a policeman. He has been a fugitive since then and the police have been searching for him. Security officials were not immediately available for comment on remarks by the Bedouin over Abou Lafi's attempted poisoning, which was not independent. "We will hold our conference on Sunday. Our demands are the same. More releases of Bedouin detainees, putting on trial the police officers involved in killing of Bedouin, and providing job opportunities for Bedouin," el-Daleh said. Over the past two months, the Interior Ministry has released around 130 Bedouin in a bid to defuse local tensions in Egypt's strategic Sinai near the border with Israel and Gaza. Police detained thousands of the Bedouin, members of nomadic Arab tribes of Sinai, after a series of bombings at tourist resorts in south Sinai in 2004-2006. Relations have grown more strained, with sporadic clashes with security forces. Bedouins complain about neglect by the government and say they do not see the benefits from booming tourism in Sinai. They say tough conditions have led some of their people to resort to smuggling and other activities the state considers criminal.
