Policemen block Sinai highway protesting killings of colleagues

Ahram Online , Saturday 3 Nov 2012

After an armed attack on police in Sinai Saturday, policemen respond by blocking the road between Al-Arish and Rafah

Several low ranking police officers blocked the Al-Arish-Rafah highway in protest following the killing of three of their colleagues in an armed assault earlier Saturday.

Tens of the residents of Sheikh Zwayed, located near Al-Arish, similarly blocked the road using rocks and burning tires, demanding that sentences issued in absentia against Sinai residents are dropped.

Three policemen were reported killed by gunshot and three others injured during an armed attack by unknown assailants Saturday in Al-Arish in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

According to a security source, the attack is believed to be in response to the killing of three men by police in Sinai last week.

Sinai, on the border with Israel, has been witness to increased violence in recent months with recurring clashes between security forces and militants.

Bedouins living in Sinai have long-standing grievances with the Egyptian police and complain of government neglect.

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