A group in Sinai which calls itself “The Shadow Government” has coordinated with Egyptian police to secure a pardon for an armed Salafist group. The group, which was formed before the ouster of Mubarak, managed to convince police and National Security to agree a truce with Mahmoud Abdel Aziz’s armed group in Sinai on condition that they hand over their weapons.

According to Ali Abdel Aziz, a member of the Shadow Government, the Mahmoud Abdel Aziz (Salafist) group protected churches, hospitals and police stations during the uprising and were provoked to clash with police by certain individuals who sought to create tensions between the two parties. The police, in turn, arrested 22 members of the Salafist organisation.

The Shadow Government announced that a meeting was held in the house of the Sinai Development Minister Ammar Saleh Gouda in Arish and was attended by members of Egypt's National Security. In the meeting an agreement was reached to allow members of the Salafist group to move freely and for those arrested to be released in return for turning over their weapons.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/20171.aspx