Is Egypt isolating Bedouins in south Sinai?
Residents of south Sinai are outraged over leaked reports about the government building a fence that would separate the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh from the rest of the province.
CAIRO — The south Sinai governorate has started building a 37-kilometer (23-mile) concrete barrier around the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on the Red Sea, stretching from east to west, from Nabq National Park to Ras Mohamed Nature Reserve.
This step coincides with the government’s efforts to revive its tourism sector that has been affected by a Russian plane crash in the area in 2015, in what was classified as a terrorist attack that killed 224 people.
Maj. Gen. Khaled Fouda, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s son-in-law and governor of the south Sinai Peninsula, told Al-Monitor that construction of new gates and a fence began Feb. 1 as part of a 20 million Egyptian pound ($1.15 million) project carried out by the south Sinai governorate to beautify the tourist city.
On Feb. 18, photos began circulating in the media, showing a 6-meter (roughly 20-feet) cement wall, sparking citizens’ fears of encircling the city, according to Fouda.
