Bedouins block passage to Sinai-Israel crossing

A group of Egyptian Bedouins on Monday blocked the main road leading to a border crossing between the Sinai peninsula and Israel. The protest -- against the detention of Bedouins in the Sinai by Egyptian authorities -- shut down the passage to Al-Ouja crossing, a Ma\'an reporter said. Truck drivers saw burning tires and rocks along the road, and gunmen armed with machine guns. Vehicles carrying aid to the Gaza Strip, including fuel tankers delivering diesel from Qatar, were allowed through, they said. Bedouin tribesman in the Sinai, where many people are armed, have long complained of neglect by the state and have in the past clashed with police, who they accuse of heavy-handed tactics against their tribes.