A group of Egyptian political parties declared on Tuesday a new political front to fight terrorism in Egypt under the name "The National Counterterrorism Front."
Stressing in its founding statement that democracy is the greatest weapon to confront terrorism, the founding parties declared their support to the state's latest decisions to fight terrorism, including the decision to deploy army units to protect public properties.
The parties also declared in the statement read by Al-Wafd Party leader El-Sayed El-Badawy on Tuesday that they would found a NGO to care of the families of the martyrs killed in the latest terrorist attack in Sinai targeting army personnel.
The parties also declared they would launch an immediate donation campaign for the families of the army's martyrs.
On Friday two militant attacks in North Sinai killed 31 security personnel in what was believed to be the deadliest day of fighting for army forces battling the latest surge of militant activity in the peninsula.
The newly founded counterterrorism front also announced it would form a committee to follow-up with North Sinai's tribal chiefs as well as with people who will be evacuated temporarily from their homes in some parts of the area.
Following Friday’s attacks the government announced that it would evacuate some parts of North Sinai near the borders with Gaza as part of the military campaign against suspected jihadist sites.
Among the parties to join the front are the Wafd Party, The Free Egyptians Party, The Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Constitution party, the Nasserite Party and the Tagammu party.
El-Badawy called on other parties, labour and student unions as well public figures and intellectuals to join the front to combat terrorism and radical thoughts. He also called on the media to confront radicals with dialogue.
The Egyptian army has been facing a decade-long jihadist militant insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, with militant attacks increasing over the past year and expanding into Cairo and the Nile Delta, killing hundreds of army and police personnel. Civilians have also been caught up in the violence.
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