BICOM

Reports say that Egypt’s military have set about creating a ‘buffer zone’ along the border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in order to thwart the smuggling of weapons and fighters into the increasingly violent Sinai Peninsula.

According to an AP report yesterday, Egyptian forces have already bulldozed thirteen homes adjacent to the border and claim to have destroyed around 350 tunnels, approximately eighty per cent of the total number of tunnels operating beneath the Egypt-Gaza border. The report says that Northern Sinai government officials envisage creating a building-free zone with no trees 500m wide and six miles long. A spokesman for the Hamas ruling power in the Gaza Strip, Ehab Ghussein is quoted criticising the measures, calling it “a new blockade on Gaza and increase the suffering of its people.”

Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi from power in Egypt in July, Sinai, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip has been plagued by violence. In a series of incidents, Islamist groups have attacked Egyptian security positions. Egypt’s rulers believe that these efforts have been significantly aided by imports via the Gaza tunnels. Egypt’s military has deployed significant forces in Sinai during recent weeks. However, they are increasingly concerned at threats to the Suez Canal which runs through the region. Reuters says that three people were arrested after having fired machine guns at a container ship passing through the canal on Saturday. The Times reports that Egypt has since increased its military presence along the canal.

Meanwhile, unrest continues to simmer in Egypt’s capital Cairo, as supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood continue to clash with security forces in isolated incidents. A state news agency reported yesterday that three people on a motorbike threw a hand grenade at a police station in Cairo. Islamist groups have called for a “day of rage” today, although only a small-scale protest is expected.