THE recent brutal incident in Naga Hamadi in the Upper Egyptian Governorate of Qena, which left seven people dead, won't be the last of its kind. One of the problems is that many Upper Egyptians carry guns. The use of arms in Upper Egypt is like a chronic disease that affects the whole society. For an Upper Egyptian, having a gun is a matter of social pride and such weapons are being used more and more on the streets there. Abdul-Wahab Khalil, a former security chief, says that it's easy to smuggle arms into Upper Egypt, because most of the cities and villages there are surrounded by mountains. It's impossible for the police to cover all the paths leading to and from these mountains, making it easy for smugglers to operate. “Besides, security operations in these mountainous areas are very risky and difficult for the police,” according to Khalil. One of Upper Egypt's most dangerous criminals was Ezzat Hanafi, who was born and lived in the village of el-Nekheila in Assiut. He was arrested and executed in 2006 after a state security court found him guilty of appropriating State-owned land, using it to grow drugs, taking hostages and resisting arrest. Two notorious villages where many of the residents have up-to-date weapons are el-Ma'bda and Beni Mohamed. Seif el-Nasr, former Chairman of the Criminal Court, says that Upper Egyptian men have the mistaken idea that they must have guns at home. “It is an inherited custom, as is the tradition of people taking violent revenge, using these weapons in their vendettas,” he said. “Another problem is that many of these people don't know how to use a gun properly. Sometimes they start shooting in the air to express their joy on occasions like weddings and relatives coming home after going on pilgrimage to Mecca, accidentally killing family members and friends in the process,“ el-Nasr told October magazine. Mahmoud Abdul-Fattah, head of the National Security Committee in the People's Assembly (Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament), agrees that arms trafficking is easy in Upper Egypt because the rugged, mountainous terrain is very difficult for the police. “However, the Ministry of Interior has launched some very successful campaigns in different parts of Upper Egypt, which have helped restore control to many areas where arms trafficking was rife,” according to Abdul-Fattah. “People can still buy guns, as there are shops where people can purchase arms legally, providing they get a licence from the Ministry of the Interior. These shops also have to get licences to import the weapons in the first place,” he added.
