North Sinai security chief fired after staff protests

Egypt's Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin dismissed head of the security directorate of North Sinai, Major General Ahmed Bakr on Sunday and replaced him with his deputy Ahmed Bashady, oneday after three policemen were shot dead by unknown armed men in Al-Arish.Gamal Eddin visited the site of the shootings on Sunday along with Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who arrived in Sinai on a surprise visit the same day to check the security situation and discuss recent developments with the governor.Both the defence and interior ministers also held a meeting Sunday in North Sinai to discuss the security situation. Policemen held a protest on Saturday evening in front of North Sinai's security directorate in Al-Arish, saying that they have been left without protection to face Jihadist militants' attacks. A group escalated the protest by blocking the Arish-Rafah road as well as other critical roads in Sinai, according to local residents. Three policemen were killed earlier on Saturday and three others were wounded in an attack by gunmen on a police patrol in Arish. Earlier in August, 16 army border guards were shot dead by armed assailants in a checkpoint near Rafah. Protesters further threatened to closing all other roads leading to the city of Al-Arish if their demands are not met. They say they are demanding the rights of their deceased colleagues and their right to self-defence. The official Facebook page of the Armed Forces' spokesperson said that the head of the security directorate has been negotiating with protesters to go back to their work. Tens of the residents of Sheikh Zwayed, located near Al-Arish, similarly blocked roads in the governorate using rocks and burning tires, demanding that sentences issued in absentia against Sinai residents to be dropped. Security sources told Arabstoday that security measures have been extremely tightened in Sinai and the roads leading to it. Sinai, on the border with Israel, has been witness to increased violence in recent months with recurring clashes between security forces and militants. Bedouins living in Sinai have long-standing grievances with the Egyptian police and complain of government neglect.