Egyptian military experts calls for setting up wide buffer zone in Sinai

In the wake of the explosion that killed 25 Egyptian soldiers and wounded several others in Sinai, Egyptian military experts called on the Egyptian National Defence Council, which convened on Friday, to set up a wide buffer zone in the peninsula, Anadolu Agency said.

The buffer zone, according to the experts, should include the cities of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid in the north of Sinai. They should be evacuated until the area is purified from ‘terrorism.’

Speaking to an official Egyptian TV channel, the Director of the Republic’s Strategic Studies Centre Major General Sameh Seif Yazal called for the evacuation of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, saying similar steps were taken during 1967 in Port Said and Suez. If it goes ahead the government will have to find alternative accommodation for the residents of both cities.

Military Expert Major General Sayyid Hashim called on the National Defence Council to take important decisions, including announcing that the border area with Israel is an operation site. He said that this area should include the two cities, which he advised be evacuated from civilians.

Meanwhile, the Former Major General of the Strategic Study Centre for the Armed Forces Alaa Ezziddin said to Anadolu that the National Defence Council met to take “deterrent decisions” regarding terrorism in the country, especially in Sinai.

“On the top of these decisions is the acceleration of the ratification of terrorism law,” he said.

Ezziddin explained: “This law includes all the necessary measures on how to deal with security issues, including sentence verdicts for anyone who owns unlicensed weapons, as well as prosecuting anyone who carries weapons and explosives and causes an attack before a military court.”

It was expected that the National Defence Council would take decisions that tighten the restrictions already imposed on residents in the north of Sinai. One of the decisions taken was the closure of the Egyptian-Palestinian border crossing, Rafah, until further notice.