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Egypt surrounds Sharm el-Sheikh resort with wire fence for protection from terrorists

South Sinai governorate announced that Sharm el-Sheikh, the most popular resort in the Sinai Peninsula and on the Red Sea, has been completely enclosed with wire fencing.

SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT - APRIL 03: A man walks in front of a new hotel under construction in Nabq district on April 3, 2016 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Prior to the Arab Spring in 2011 some 15million tourists would visit Egypt each year. The resort town of Sharm El Sheikh was built around tourism however tourist numbers have plummeted after recent terrorist attacks with flights from major UK carriers being suspended and foreign offices around the world warning citizens of the 'High threat from terrorism' Sha
A man walks in front of a new hotel under construction in Nabq district, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, April 3, 2016. — Chris McGrath/Getty Images

CAIRO — Social media activists passed around a rumor in November 2019 that the Egyptian government was planning to build a 7-meter-high (23-feet-high) steel wall around the new administrative capital, which the state is building in eastern Cairo, but the government quickly denied this rumor. However, the state did end up setting up another barrier, around the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, in the south Sinai governorate, made up of a concrete wall and wire fencing.

On Feb. 9, Gov. of the south Sinai Peninsula Khaled Fouda released a press statement announcing that Sharm el-Sheikh, the most important and most famous tourist resort in south Sinai and on the Red Sea, has been completely surrounded by a wire fence, extending over some concrete columns, 36 kilometers (22 miles) long and 6 meters (20 feet) high, pointing out that the wall aims to ensure the security and protection of tourists and residents in Sharm el-Sheikh.

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