Arish residents fear planned house demolitions for highway development, Province of Sinai steps up kidnap, ransom operations in Bir al-Abd

Authorities appear to be moving ahead with plans to demolish a number of residences in Arish to make way for a new road development despite continued efforts by residents to find alternative solutions. Meanwhile, militant attacks have intensified in Bir al-Abd in recent months, with the Province of Sinai storming villages and kidnapping residents for ransom. The Islamic State affiliate’s operations have also returned in the east of North Sinai with attacks on a new residential area being built near the city of Rafah. As the violence continues, tribal leaders allied with the security forces appear to have notched a significant propaganda victory up with the apparent surrender of a Province of Sinai leader as part of an initiative to convince militants to turn themselves in, in return for undergoing interrogation and being released. 

House demolitions expected to move forward despite organizing efforts by residents

Government plans to demolish residences in downtown Arish to make way for a new highway continue to be met with resistance by residents trying to save their homes.

The ultimate fate of a number of apartment buildings and homes on Fatih and Geish streets in the center of the city remains unknown six months after they were marked in preparation for demolition for the new road construction, a project that North Sinai’s governor credited to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. 

Even though the head of the Engineers Syndicate in North Sinai announced in April that the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, which is managing the project, had agreed on a set of alternative proposals submitted by the syndicate to avoid the demolitions, government statements and steps taken by authorities in the area suggest the original plan to demolish the residences is moving forward.

Two government-owned buildings — including the Tourism Police building — that lie in the middle of the area designated for demolition on Fatih Street have already been evacuated. Prior to the evacuation, government committees were also sent to appraise residential buildings in the area known as Ayayba, named after the Ayoub family, the majority of whom live in the area. The appraisal committee was accompanied by a large number of security forces and vehicles, according to a number of residents who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. 

Construction works on Fatih Street, which runs along the coast, began in early August in the westernmost part of the city, away from any residential housing. However, North Sinai Governor Major General Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha has continued to give assurances that the governorate will compensate residents, implying that demolitions of residential buildings will eventually take place. The governor said that the plans currently being implemented are the result of collaboration between the Engineers Syndicate and the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, even though the head of the syndicate in North Sinai, Amen Goda, had previously announced that the proposals put forward by the syndicate would not require any demolitions.

Residents of areas affected by the new highway project told Mada Masr that they believe the governor’s announced move to consider an alternative plan drawn up by the Engineers Syndicate was nothing more than a stalling maneuver to try and placate residents as they began to organize in opposition to the development.

Speaking on North Sinai’s main radio station, the governor has also described plans for additional construction on Fateh Street that go beyond what was previously announced in the original development plan. This was reflected on the ground in early September when more houses and sidewalks stretching from the Tourism Police building to Nafoura Square were marked for demolition. 

At the same time, security forces have been cracking down on residents’ organizing efforts in the area. In one case, authorities barred printing shops in Arish from printing any pamphlets that objected to the development project. Authorities also removed a tent erected in the street by one of the residents whose house is under threat of demolition that acted as a gathering place for residents to meet and organize against the project.

Residents have been organizing by sharing frequent updates on their social media accounts, and by communicating with parties and professional syndicates, such as the Lawyers Syndicate, to try and find alternative solutions. Some residents went so far as to call for physically obstructing authorities from surveying their homes or marking them for demolition, though the suggestion was met with pushback by other residents.

A number of residents in the Ayayba district told Mada Masr they believe that attempting to stop demolitions or obstructing the work of appraisal committees is extremely risky and could provoke confrontation with security forces. Members of the Ayoub family who live in the neighborhood have long standing grievances with security forces dating back to 2017, when the Interior Ministry announced the killing of 10 people, whom it claimed were terrorists that were involved in an ambush on the Matafi checkpoint in the west of Arish proper. Most of those killed were members of the Ayoub family, who claimed that their relatives were already in custody before the attack. In response, the family began holding public meetings and eventually called for a campaign of civil disobedience to protest the killings.

Two men from the family who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity said that since then, the entire family has been subject to harassment by security forces, including some family members with government jobs being excluded from promotions. The family members say that given this history, they are reluctant to provoke the security forces and want to avoid confrontational tactics in responding to the proposed demolitions. They said the Ayoub family is working with affected residents on Geish Street to try and find peaceful, legal solutions.

A number of residents who sat in on a meeting with the governor in February told Mada Masr that North Sinai authorities are adamant on demolishing residences to make way for the highway. According to the residents, the deputy governor said in the meeting that “if a house is only one centimeter into the parameters planned for the new flyover, I will demolish it entirely.” Meanwhile, residents of areas far away from the construction projects are worried that the demolition plans are only the start of a much wider development strategy within the city that could ultimately affect them, pointing to the recent rapid construction of high walls encircling Arish from the easternmost point, passing through the southern edge, and reaching the Zaraniq area to the west of the city.

Despite the governor’s repeated assurances that any affected residents would be compensated, the value or details of any compensation has not yet been officially announced. The governor had earlier indicated in a radio address that residents who own their apartments would either be compensated financially or be entitled to an apartment in one of the public housing units in the Sabil or Obour areas, while tenants would be entitled to rent units there. Both areas are far from the city center — with Sabil located in the westernmost area of Arish, and Obour located in the far southeast — and not in the range of public transportation.

Residents told Mada Masr that they heard unofficially from the appraisal committees who visited Fatih Street that they will receive compensation of LE40,000 for each room in the apartment, excluding bathrooms and kitchens.

Several residents who spoke to Mada Masr said that this compensation estimate is extremely low, considering that their properties that are under the threat of demolition are in excellent shape and well-located, being close to the sea or city center.

Arish residents have long complained that the government’s so-called development projects in the area often worsen their living conditions. In one case, problems with a newly built extension to a water pipeline led to severe water shortages in various districts in the city, and the roads that had been torn up by the construction made them nearly impassable by car. Shortly after the streets were repaved, authorities began tearing them up anew for additional utility projects. 

Residents also suggested that instead of house demolitions to make way for a new highway, authorities should instead focus on a host of issues plaguing the city, such as strengthening poor telecommunication lines, fixing water shortages, and repaving and installing street lights on the Arish-Qantara International Road — a highway that is commonly referred to as the “death road” due to the high number of accidents on it.

Province of Sinai attacks intensify

The Province of Sinai — the Islamic State affiliate in the peninsula — intensified militant attacks in North Sinai in August and September, particularly in the regions of Bir al-Abd to the west, and Rafah to the east.

The most significant incident came in early September in the village of Baluza, located in the far west of the governorate. Militants armed with automatic rifles and RPGs stormed the village, surrounded a cafe on a main street and kidnapped 10 people seemingly at random, injuring three who tried to escape, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. The militants then stole two cars and left the scene.

Eyewitnesses and other sources from the village said the cafe that was attacked is known as a gathering point for civilians believed to work with the security forces, who are referred to as “Bashmarka” in North Sinai and are often targeted by militants. 

According to sources close to those kidnapped, the militants released seven people a few days after the attack, dropping them off in a remote desert area at night and ordering them to walk in a specific direction until they reached the closest populated area. The seven men walked around 4 km before they reached a military checkpoint manned by one soldier in the Ard al-Kheir area, in southern Bir al-Abd. The soldier took them to the army brigade in the village of Rabea, which then transported them to their village in military vehicles the following day. However, they were instructed by the Armed Forces not to speak about their ordeal, the sources said.

A few days later, two more people were released, while the fate of the tenth abductee, who was shot in the foot while trying to escape from the cafe, remains unknown. Sources close to those who were released said that the militants operated on the man to remove the bullet, then isolated him from the rest of the group. While in custody, the militants gave the men bran to eat and salty water to drink. 

In August, the Province of Sinai also stormed the village of Hamisa, in the west of the Bir al-Abd region, with militants stopping people on the streets and checking their IDs, apparently searching for specific individuals. A local source in Hamisa told Mada Masr that the militants “had walked throughout the village freely.” In response, the Armed Forces surrounded the village completely and imposed a nightly curfew from 6 pm to 6 am.

The Province of Sinai largely refocused its militant operations westward to the city of Bir al-Abd and its surrounding areas in mid-2019 in response to a major security operation by the Armed Forces in Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed to the east. The move further west also came after the Armed Forces tightened control over the borders with the Gaza Strip to clamp down on arms smuggling, constructing a large wall along the border and securing agreements with Hamas to control its side of the border in Gaza.

However, over the past two months, the militant group appears to have returned to staging attacks on the Armed Forces in the east of the governorate with intensified operations in particular near New Rafah, a residential area currently being built to the west of the city of Rafah, close to the village of Wefaq. Attacks have included the use of explosive devices and sniper fire targeting military checkpoints. The most prominent incident came on August 12, when a military vehicle was bombed, killing 8 soldiers and injuring five, an anonymous source told Mada Masr at the time. A statement by the military spokesperson said a total of nine soldiers were killed or wounded in the attack and also claimed that 13 militants were killed in the ensuing clashes. At the same time, Amaq, the media arm of the Islamic State, published several photos of IED attacks on military targets, with New Rafah residential units visible in the background.

Militant group steps up targeted kidnap for ransom operations

Around the time that the people kidnapped in Baluza were released, the Province of Sinai also released a businessman who owns farms in southern Bir al-Abd and his 13-year-old son. The militant group had kidnapped them around a month before in the Ard al-Kheir area in Bir al-Abd and demanded a ransom of LE1.5 million, according to a source close to the family who spoke to Mada Masr. 

The Province of Sinai’s practice of kidnapping people for ransom has increased over the past two years and the operations appear to be pre-planned, usually targeting figures who have access to funds to pay for their release. In one case, three young men were abducted in January from the village of Misfaq, to the east of the city of Bir al-Abd. The Province of Sinai demanded a LE1 million ransom for the men, even though the families are of middle-income, according to a close source that spoke to Mada Masr. Yet the militants convinced the families to gather the money from wealthier relatives who are businessmen. Three days after paying the ransom, two of the men were released, whereas the fate of the third remains unknown.

Last year, a car dealer from Qatiya, a village to the west of Bir al-Abd proper, was kidnapped and released after paying a ransom of LE1.5 million. At the same time, a businessman who owns several quarries was kidnapped from Baluza and released a few months later in exchange for a ransom of LE2 million, according to local sources that spoke to Mada Masr.

The Union of Sinai Tribes announces surrender of Province of Sinai leader

As the violence continues in North Sinai, security agencies along with allied tribal groups have also pursued strategies intended to convince militants to turn themselves in. An initiative, which began in June 2020, gave the green light to tribal leaders to try and convince members of their tribes involved with the Province of Sinai to surrender themselves in return for undergoing interrogation and being released. 

The strategy appears to have notched up a major victory in recent weeks. In September, the Union of Sinai Tribes — a contingent of tribes fighting alongside the government against the Province of Sinai — announced that a leader of the militant group had surrendered, along with his wife and three children.

According to the statement, the militant leader, Mohamed Saad Kamel — known by his nom de guerre, Abu Hamza al-Qady — is the head of proselytization for the Province of Sinai and president of its Sharia court. The Union of Tribes published photos of him, including one in which he appears next to Hanafy Gamal and Khairat al-Sobky, two former security officers who joined the Province of Sinai between 2016 and 2018 and made an appearance in a video released by the group in November 2018. 

The union also published additional photos of men and women with their faces blurred out, who they claimed had also been members of the militant group and had surrendered, but their names, positions within the group and dates of surrender were not mentioned.

A source close to the Union of Sinai Tribes told Mada Masr that security agencies are trying to take advantage of Qady’s surrender to persuade other militants to follow suit. The authorities published a flyer containing a message purportedly written by Qady — which Mada Masr obtained — in which he admits his regret about issuing fatwas that led to the deaths of others, calls on Province of Sinai members to reevaluate their convictions, and advises those who want to surrender themselves to head toward the closest military checkpoint with their arms in the air and carrying a white flag or the flyer itself. The message is to be dropped by military aircraft in areas where the Province of Sinai is active and to be distributed on the ground by security patrols, according to a source who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. 

Military funerals for soldiers killed in militant attacks

Both the Armed Forces and the Province of Sinai have sought to publicize their military successes and play down any losses. Throughout August and September, the Province of Sinai published through Amaq numerous statements claiming responsibility for attacks on military vehicles and the killing of soldiers while only announcing one death from its ranks, a militant by the name of Abu Gaafar al-Ansary. 

As the Province of Sinai was attacking the Armed Forces in Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed, the military spokesperson issued two statements in August, announcing that a total of 102 militants had been killed and 17 soldiers had been killed or injured. 

During the same period, local news coverage reported on the funerals of 23 soldiers who were serving in North Sinai, including two officers.

Meanwhile, the Union of Tribes, announced in September that one of its fighters, Fayez al-Goweil Abu Zarai of the Tarabin tribe, was killed during an attempt to dismantle an explosive device in the village of Barth, south of Rafah. The Province of Sinai claimed responsibility shortly afterwards, and claimed later in the month that it had killed two of the union’s fighters in the Kilo 30 area, south of Rafah, as well. This came a month after it claimed responsibility for destroying a four-wheel-drive vehicle owned by the Union of Tribes, which the Islamic State affiliate said killed or injured everyone inside.