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Daesh-affiliate executes 4 Egyptians in North Sinai

August 14, 2020 at 2:26 pm

Wilayat Sinai , the Daesh-affiliate in Egypt’s north-eastern peninsula, has executed four people over their alleged cooperation with the Egyptian Army in North Sinai, Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed reported citing tribal sources.

The execution took place in the North Sinai city of Bir Al-Abd.

For the past three weeks, Wilayat Sinai, which pledged allegiance to Daesh in 2014, has been in control of five towns in Bir Al-Abd’s vicinity – Rabaa, Katiya, Aktiya, Janayen and Merih.

Three months ago, three other Egyptians were executed by the Daesh-affiliate in the North Sinai province. Their execution took place south of Sheikh Zouweid.

The militant group has repeatedly targeted victims from the Sawarka Tribe, which it accuses of cooperating with Egyptian authorities and security apparatus.

Egypt has been fighting a protracted war on terror in the Sinai Peninsula that has intensified during President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s rise to power.

READ: Egypt releases first-ever ‘counter-terrorism’ report  

Locals have described it as a war on civilians due to the punitive measures that are carried out against the local population and the abuse recorded on this latest video confirms that systematic rights violations are taking place there.

The government has gone to great measures to control the narrative, pushing the idea it is fighting a just war on terror and at the same time prohibiting journalists and human rights workers from entering the peninsula.

Humanitarian and rights groups have questioned Egypt’s ability to tackle terrorism given that it is estimated there are only 1,000 militants at any one time in the peninsula, yet seven years later the war continues.

A recent UN report raised serious concerns about Egypt’s anti-terror laws being abused to increase rights violations in the peninsula, including the suspension of schools across North Sinai.