CAIRO — Within the span of a week in late June, the Rafah Central Security Barracks were twice targeted by unidentified gunmen; a rocket landed in the middle of the Sinai; a prominent tribal chief survived an assassination attempt by police forces; and two police sergeants were kidnapped. This string of events casts major doubts on the Egyptian army and the Ministry of Interior's soothing statements insisting that they have control over the restive mountainous peninsula, which has been the site of several significant blows to the country’s national security since the Jan. 2011 uprising.
Meanwhile, the security situation in the Sinai continues to deteriorate as Egypt nears June 30, a day of planned massive protests calling for the ouster of its first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, and new elections.
