Bedouin protesters block North Sinai highway

Ahram Online , Friday 30 Sep 2011

Sinai tribesmen cut highway to protest election law changes, in-absentia jail sentences

Dozens of Bedouin tribesmen on Friday blocked the international highway linking Sheikh Zowaid City and Rafah City in Egypt’s restive Sinai Peninsula, cutting access to the road from both directions.

Tribesmen say they took the step to protest recent amendments to Egypt’s parliamentary elections law and delays in the appointment of a new mayor of Sheikh Zowaid.

Protesters, who burnt tires and erected stone barricades, also registered their discontent over the government’s continued failure to suspend in-absentia jail sentences handed down on their fellow tribesmen by the former regime.

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