Calls by Sinai tribes to join Armed Forces in war on terrorism stirs debate in Egypt

After the Friday terrorist attack on Al-Rawda mosque, the tribes of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula asked to fight against terrorism with the Egyptian Armed Forces. The Union of Sinai Tribes stated that the tribes will exact revenge on all terrorist in Sinai. However, a member of the Arab Tribes Council, Ibrahim Rafie, which represents tribes in Egypt’s Western Desert, said in an interview on the TV show ‘On My Responsibility’ that he does not support the idea of armed militias and that only members of the official army should be allowed to carry weapons. On the other hand El-Awady believes that the Sinai tribes, along with the Armed Forces, are capable of eliminating terrorism. Ahmed Kamel El-Beheiry, a researcher at the Ahram Centre for Strategic and Political Studies, said that allowing armed civilians against terrorism could have dangerous consequences and he added that: those who carry arms side-by-side with the state could also use them against the state”.