CAIRO - Governor of North Sinai Abdel-Wahab Mabrouk has denied that Al-Qaeda has a strong presence in the Peninsula. He declared that the terrorist organisation is not present at all in North Sinai. Although the Governor's denial may be soothing, the tragic developments in the entire Sinai Peninsula since the revolution should make everyone concerned about the future of this strategic area of Egypt. In addition to the regular bombing of the natural gas pipeline that supplies Israel, the sense of insecurity in post-revolution Sinai assumed very serious dimensions on Friday and Saturday this week, when more than 100 men wearing balaclavas and touting RPGs and automatic machineguns attacked the police station in el-Arish. About 25 people were killed and injured during the gun battle, which lasted nine hours. Two weeks ago, a group calling itself 'Al-Qaeda in North Sinai' distributed leaflets in mosques and public places in North Sinai, vowing to cut off Sinai from the motherland and declare it (the Peninsula) an independent Muslim emirate. Perhaps armed gangs, notorious for arms smuggling and drug trafficking, are trying to exploit the state of lawlessness which has prevailed across Egypt since the revolution, to distract the Army's attention from their criminal activities. The Egyptian Army, in collaboration with the security authorities in the area, should give these lawbreakers and criminals, whether belonging to Al-Qaeda or claiming to do so, a harsh rap on the knuckles. If not, the State's authority and sovereignty in the Peninsula will be compromised, misleading our enemies into thinking that Egypt has become weak and vulnerable.
