Will ISIS find fertile ground in Egypt's Sinai?
Tribal elders in the Sinai Peninsula say links are growing between local jihadists from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
RAFAH, Egypt — Following its rapid advance across Iraq, the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is casting its long shadow over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The latter is a fertile and convenient environment for the organization’s expansion, particularly considering the presence there of jihadist factions said to be affiliated with ISIS, causing concern for the region’s inhabitants.
“Sinai may become Egypt’s Iraq,” said a clan elder from the village of al-Mahdiya, adjacent to the Israeli border, speaking to Al-Monitor. He meant that Egyptian authorities might lose control of the peninsula, leading to its transformation into a "playground for extremist terrorist organizations," as he put it.
The elder, a man in his 60s who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal from security agencies or terrorists, believes that the Sinai Peninsula could become an unexpected hell for Egypt and its neighbor Israel. He said, “The Egyptian and Israeli authorities are working together on the implementation of a plan to eradicate life from Sinai under the guise of a war against terrorism, which is affecting a large number of innocent people. Both countries think that their agreements pertaining to this frightening reality will transform the area into a peaceful oasis for both sides.”
He opined that peace can never be achieved in Sinai Peninsula at the expense of the region’s inhabitants, adding, “When people are subjected to injustices, poverty and starvation in Sinai, the natural progression is for extremist organizations to rise. These include organizations such as the terrorist Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which exploits the oppressed who join it to take revenge upon the state and the army, as is occurring right now. I assure you that what is currently occurring in Iraq, and ISIS control over different areas of the Iraqi state, might recur in Sinai soon. The environment here is exactly similar to the one present in Iraq. There, [Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki marginalized and oppressed the Sunnis, leading to the latter’s support for ISIS in search of vengeance. In Sinai, similarly, the state has been harshly marginalizing and persecuting us. As a result, Sinai has become home to a terrorist organization with close ties to ISIS, namely Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.”
