CAIRO – 7 July 2017: Egypt has witnessed a violent week where dozens of its soldiers were killed and injured in terrorist attacks in light of Qatar’s lenient position to preserve its stubbornness to comply with the Arab demands.
A while ago, a police officer was shot dead while he was leaving a mosque in Qalubiya governorate, after performing Friday prayers.
Early on Friday, Egypt’s military forces killed at least 40 militants attempted to attack several checkpoints in North Sinai, announced Military spokesperson Tamer el-Refaei in a statement on Friday.
Egypt army soldier standing next to killed terrorists in North Sinai
During the confrontations, a car bombing attacked a number of military troops, killing and injuring 26 personnel, Refaei added.
Thursday night, a checkpoint in Al-Ayyat district, Giza, was attacked, leaving a conscript and a civilian wounded.
Wednesday, two police officers and one conscript were killed in a terrorist attack targeting their checkpoint.
After several states severed ties with Doha last month, Egyptian politicians and social media demanded probing Qatar internationally, accusing the Gulf country of involvement in funding terrorist groups, which launched attacks killing thousands of Egyptian armed and police forces over the past few years, since the ouster of the President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
A hashtag “Egyptian Blood is Precious” was circulated, where social media users rejected any calls for reconciliation with Qatar.
Local and international condemnation ensued Friday attacks. Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Jordan denounced Friday attack that killed dozens of army forces.
Dar al-Iftaa, Egypt’s official body authorized to issue religious edicts, mourned soldiers killed in the terror attack at checkpoint in Sinai.
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo also condemned the attack in a tweet, saying: “Another outrageous terror attack in Egypt. The United States stands with Egypt against terrorism. #USSupportForEgypt.”
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with the state of Qatar on June 5 on charges of supporting terrorism and extremist groups in the region. The Qatari regime is responsible for the lives of victims who have been killed by terrorist operations supported by Qatar in Egypt and other Arab countries, Egyptian Parliamentarian Mohamed Abou Hamed announced on several occasions recently.
The countries listed 13 demands to be met by Qatar, including: severing ties with terrorist groups, closing down the pan-Arab Al Jazeera satellite channel, downgrading ties with arch-rival Iran and closing a Turkish air base in Qatar.
Infograph by Ahmed Hussein
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain said in a joint statement Thursday that Qatar’s rejection of the Arab demands is clear evidence that it will continue to support terrorism.
The ultimatum that had been given to Qatar is now void, leading to further legal, political and economic measures against the government of Qatar by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, according to a Friday statement.
The Qatari government has purposely thwarted all diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and has rejected any settlements, reflecting its intention to continue with its destabilizing policies against the interests of the Qatari people, the Arab quartet said in the joint statement.
They also condemned Qatar’s “lack of tact and respect” towards the Kuwaiti mediation, as it leaked the list of demands in an attempt to condemn the initiative to failure.
The “justified demands” come as a result of Qatar’s hostile practices and violations of the 2014 Riyadh Supplementary Agreement of which Doha is signatory, the statement said.
The four states added that Qatar has violated international conventions and norms; namely the charter of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations, and the outcome of the Islamic-American summit of Riyadh, in which 55 Islamic countries and U.S. President Donald Trump participated.
The Qatari regime interferes in the internal affairs of the countries in the region, seeks to destabilize them to spread chaos and devastation, and funds internationally-designated terror groups, the statement continued.
One of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Doha, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, 90, has been accused of inciting violence through his religious opinions and writings, justifying assassinations conducted by Islamists against other groups.
During an interview for Al Jazeera, Qaradawi was questioned by a viewer if it is religiously legitimate to target “soldiers of the national Syrian army” especially since some soldiers want to defect from the service, by saying that “we are not certain if they want to abandon the authority’s forces that must all be fought.”
“Anyone working with the (Syrian) authority, whether civilians, military personnel, educated or ignorant, must be fought,” Qaradwi said, adding that “those who get killed mistaken for being authority’s affiliates, God will take revenge for them from those in power.”
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