Egypt Army Seizes Weapons While Chasing Terrorists

Military armored vehicle securing worshippers outside a mosque in Bir Al-Abed, northern Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Reuters
Military armored vehicle securing worshippers outside a mosque in Bir Al-Abed, northern Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Reuters
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Egypt Army Seizes Weapons While Chasing Terrorists

Military armored vehicle securing worshippers outside a mosque in Bir Al-Abed, northern Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Reuters
Military armored vehicle securing worshippers outside a mosque in Bir Al-Abed, northern Sinai, Egypt, December 1, 2017. Reuters

Egyptian army's border guards seized a number of weapons within the framework of its war on terrorist organizations.

Border guards seized two automatic rifles, 29 shotguns, 5,000 bullets, and 24 explosive devices, as well as 29 metal detectors, 2,200 kilograms of a rock from which gold ore is extracted and 73 vehicles used for smuggling during the period from January 16 until February 12.

The guards also managed to arrest 2,770 people while attempting to illegally cross the western and southern borders, according to armed forces spokesman Tamer al-Rifai, adding that the army detected and destroyed four tunnel openings on the border strip in North Sinai.

On Saturday, the army announced that seven terrorists and 14 others were injured in North Sinai in fire exchange after they attacked a force concentration. According to the army, 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and injured during the attack, which ISIS claimed the responsibility for.

Since the army's overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, a number of soldiers have been killed in attacks by extremist groups.

The General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the terrorist attack on a security checkpoint in North Sinai.

OIC Sec-Gen, Yousef bin Ahmed al-Othaimeen, expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Egyptian Government. He stressed the OIC solidarity and stand with Egypt in the face of terrorism aimed at destabilizing its security and stability and support for all the measures Cairo would take to protect security and stability, and the safety of its citizens against the schemes of the terrorist organizations and groups.

Othaimeen reiterated the Organization’s principled position condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Also, Arab Parliament Speaker Mishaal bin Fahm al-Salami condemned a deadly terrorist attack that targeted the security checkpoint in Arish.

In a statement on Sunday, Salami strongly condemned the attack in North Sinai and asserted the support of the Arab Parliament to Egypt in its war against terror.

Salami lauded the Egyptian Armed Forces and their efforts to maintain stability in the country.



UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

The United Nations Development Program is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.
Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December and fled the country - was seen as a "global public good."
"Our total plan for Syria over three years is $1.3 billion. This is not just a number, but a comprehensive strategy covering all support aspects," Dardari said. He said that help could include introducing artificial intelligence, setting up social protection programs and rebuilding infrastructure.
He said it would be crucial to mobilize funds from different sources including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as other countries in the region.
Since Assad was toppled last year after a nearly 14-year civil war, his successors have called on the international community to lift sanctions imposed against the country during his rule.
So far, most of those sanctions remain in place, with the United States and other Western countries saying the new authorities still need to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
Syria has $563 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the IMF. But using the funds requires approval by IMF members holding 85% of the total votes, giving the United States, with 16.5% of the votes, an effective veto.
Syria's finance minister, central bank governor and foreign minister are planning on attending the spring meetings next week, Reuters reported earlier this month.
It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US Assad's fall.
Washington has handed Syria a list of conditions which, if fulfilled, could lead to some sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Dardari said that sanctions remained "a considerable obstacle" to Syria's growth trajectory.
"Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and in technical assistance and so on, and that cannot happen with such heavy sanctions imposed on the country," he said, calling for sanctions "to be lifted in a comprehensive manner." Dardari said UNDP had secured a sanctions exemption from the US Treasury to mobilize up to $50 million to repair the Deir Ali power plant south of Damascus.
Three sources familiar with the issue told Reuters the World Bank is exploring hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to improve Syria's electricity grid and support the public sector.
Syria's central bank governor Abdelkader Husrieh told Reuters that his country wanted to be compliant with global financial standards but that sanctions were still "blocking the economy from going forward".
"We want to be part of the international financial system and hope that the international community will help us to remove any obstacle to this integration," he said.