Egyptian police, bedouin clash in Sinai over cement

Egyptian police, bedouin clash in Sinai over cement
12 November 2009


Egyptian police and Sinai bedouin tribesmen clashed on Wednesday after police seized cement they said was bound for Gaza via smuggling tunnels, and 11 police were injured, security sources said.

The sources said dozens of bedouin pelted police with stones after authorities confiscated goods including 200t of cement in a raid on a storage facility near the Gaza-Egypt border.

The bedouin, who say the confiscated goods were destined for the local market and not Gaza, later opened fire in the air and surrounded a convoy of 10 police cars and two armoured vehicles for seven hours, setting fire to tyres to stop them from moving.

Police responded by firing tear gas into the crowd and by sending 500 police reinforcements to the scene, but the crisis was calmed after tribal elders intervened, the sources said.

Source: Reuters
Published under Cement News