Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt has reported the discovery of another surface-to-air
missile cache in the Sinai Peninsula.

Officials said the Egyptian Army and security forces found several SAMs
buried near the northern Sinai provincial capital of El Arish. They
said at least four Russian-origin anti-aircraft missiles as well as other
munitions were seized on April 1.

“While searching the area of the coastal road, four anti-aircraft
missiles and 15 bombs were found,” an Egyptian government statement said.

Egypt’s state-owned Middle East News Agency said army sappers arrived
and neutralized the weapons. MENA said authorities were investigating the
latest of a series of SAM caches and convoys in Sinai.

Officials said the SAMs were believed to have been smuggled into Sinai
from Libya. They said Bedouins were working with Palestinian insurgents
linked to the Gaza Strip to maintain a flow of weapons through the
peninsula.

Egypt, pressed by Israel and the United States, has reported a crackdown
on smuggling to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. On April 1, officials said a
truck that carried 2,000 liters of diesel fuel was intercepted near El
Arish. They said the fuel was ordered by the Hamas regime.

Authorities have sought to recruit Bedouins to help block the arms flow
to the Gaza Strip. Egyptian Army commanders, the latest of whom was Second
Army chief Maj. Gen. Ahmed Wasfi, met Bedouin tribal leaders from northern
and central Sinai in late March.

“The meeting included recent developments of the security situation in
the Sinai and the efforts of the armed forces to meet the basic needs of
the people of Sinai in the areas of development, medical care,
well-drilling and water desalination plants as well as medical services to
remote areas,” Egyptian Army spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said.

Officials said the army has become concerned over the spread of Al
Qaida-inspired indoctrination among major Bedouin tribes. They cited marches
by Bedouin gunmen in the towns of Rafah and Sheik Zweid — located along the
Gaza border — that included the display of automatic weapons and Islamist
flags and slogans.

“The Bedouin elders stressed the need for cooperation and coordination
between the Sinai Bedouin and the armed forces to restore security and
stability in the Sinai Peninsula and maintain Egyptian national security,”
Ali said.

  Bedouins, Egyptian Army find more SAMs buried in the Sinai, El Arish, Gaza Strip, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Wasfi, Russian-origin anti-aircraft missiles