Sinai insurgency
Defunct insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Sinai insurgency was an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, launched by Islamist militants against Egyptian security forces, which have also included attacks on civilians.[40] The insurgency began during the Egyptian Crisis, during which the longtime Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.[41]
Sinai insurgency | |||||||
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Part of terrorism in Egypt, the Egyptian Crisis, and the Arab Winter | |||||||
Map of the Sinai Peninsula (for a more detailed map of the current military situation in Sinai, see here) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Supported by:
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Islamic State[19] (from 2014) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Former
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Muhammad al-Zawahiri (POW)[21] Abu Hajar al-Hashemi (ISIL Emir of Wilayat Sinai) Salim Salma Said Mahmoud al-Hamadin † Abu Osama al-Masri †[24] Shadi el-Manaei Selim Suleiman Al-Haram †[25][26] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Total: 25,000 (41 battalions)[27] |
Total: ≈12,000[28] ISIL: 1,000-1,500 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3,277 killed (2013-2022) 12,280 injured (2013-2022)[29] IDF: 4 killed[30] |
4,059-5,189+ killed [31][32][33] | ||||||
Civilian fatalities: 1,539+ Egyptian,[34][35] 219 Russians, 4 Ukrainians, 1 Belarusian,[36] 3 South Koreans,[37] 3 Vietnamese, 2 Germans,[38] 1 Croatian[39] Total: 10,000+ killed |
The insurgency initially consisted of militants, largely composed of local Bedouin tribesmen, who exploited the chaotic situation in Egypt and weakened central authority to launch a series of attacks on government forces in Sinai. In 2014, elements of the Ansar Bait al-Maqdis group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) and proclaimed themselves Sinai Province, with some security officials stating that militants based in Libya established ties with the Sinai Province group[42] and blaming the porous border and ongoing civil war for the increase in sophisticated weapons available to the Islamist groups.[43]
Egyptian authorities attempted to restore their presence in the Sinai through both political and military measures.[44] The country launched two military operations, known as Operation Eagle in mid-2011 and Operation Sinai in mid-2012. In May 2013, following an abduction of Egyptian officers, violence in the Sinai surged once again. Following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, which resulted in the ousting of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, "unprecedented clashes" occurred.[45]
The fallout suffered by locals as a result of the insurgency ranges from militant operations and a state of insecurity to extensive military operations and the demolishing of hundreds of homes, leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents as Egyptian troops pressed on to build a buffer zone meant to halt the smuggling of weapons and militants from and to the Gaza Strip. A report, compiled by a delegation from the state-funded National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), stated that most of the displaced families share the same grievances of palpable government negligence, unavailability of nearby schools, and a lack of health services.[46] Since the start of the conflict, dozens of civilians were killed, either in military operations or kidnapped and then beheaded by militants. In November 2017, more than 300 Sufist worshippers were killed and over 100 injured in a terrorist attack on a mosque west of the city of Al-Arish.[40]