Egyptian police, bedouin clash in Sinai over cement
ISMAILIA, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Egyptian police and Sinai bedouin tribesmen clashed on Wednesday after police seized cement they said was bound for Gaza via smuggling tunnels, and 11 police were injured, security sources said.
The sources said dozens of bedouin pelted police with stones after authorities confiscated goods including 200 tonnes of cement in a raid on a storage facility near the Gaza-Egypt border.
The bedouin, who say the confiscated goods were destined for the local market and not Gaza, later opened fire in the air and surrounded a convoy of 10 police cars and two armoured vehicles for seven hours, setting fire to tyres to stop them from moving.
Police responded by firing tear gas into the crowd and by sending 500 police reinforcements to the scene, but the crisis was calmed after tribal elders intervened, the sources said.
At least 11 police were injured by stones, including a senior officer.
Northern Sinai is home to about 200,000 formerly nomadic bedouin. It is one of Egypt's poorest areas and unemployment is high. Bedouin say they are shut out of jobs in the lucrative tourism and petroleum sectors in Sinai.
Relations between bedouin and the police have long been strained, especially since the police detained thousands of young men several years ago when a series of bombings shook tourist resorts in south Sinai.
Bedouin elders, who complain of neglect by Egypt's central government, say tough economic times have led more of their kin to resort to smuggling and other criminal activities.
Egypt says it is trying to staunch an active smuggling trade from Sinai to both Israel and the Gaza Strip. Smugglers send weapons and goods via tunnels to Hamas-run Gaza to circumvent an Israeli-led blockade. (Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Cynthia Johnston)
The sources said dozens of bedouin pelted police with stones after authorities confiscated goods including 200 tonnes of cement in a raid on a storage facility near the Gaza-Egypt border.
The bedouin, who say the confiscated goods were destined for the local market and not Gaza, later opened fire in the air and surrounded a convoy of 10 police cars and two armoured vehicles for seven hours, setting fire to tyres to stop them from moving.
Police responded by firing tear gas into the crowd and by sending 500 police reinforcements to the scene, but the crisis was calmed after tribal elders intervened, the sources said.
At least 11 police were injured by stones, including a senior officer.
Northern Sinai is home to about 200,000 formerly nomadic bedouin. It is one of Egypt's poorest areas and unemployment is high. Bedouin say they are shut out of jobs in the lucrative tourism and petroleum sectors in Sinai.
Relations between bedouin and the police have long been strained, especially since the police detained thousands of young men several years ago when a series of bombings shook tourist resorts in south Sinai.
Bedouin elders, who complain of neglect by Egypt's central government, say tough economic times have led more of their kin to resort to smuggling and other criminal activities.
Egypt says it is trying to staunch an active smuggling trade from Sinai to both Israel and the Gaza Strip. Smugglers send weapons and goods via tunnels to Hamas-run Gaza to circumvent an Israeli-led blockade. (Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Cynthia Johnston)
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