Insecurity in Sinai and Beyond: Why the Egyptian Counterterrorism Strategy is Failing

Abstract

Since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, Egypt has seen a dramatic increase in terrorist attacks. The country’s military-led government has undertaken massive counterterrorism operations in the Sinai Peninsula, where professionalization of terrorism has risen sharply in recent years. These include shoot-to-kill policy at checkpoints, curfews, the destruction of tunnels, and the arrest of suspected terrorists. The government has evacuated entire residential areas and started building a buffer zone along the border with Gaza. Its harsh crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the repression of any form of public dissent has also been at the core of its fight against terrorism. However, terrorist attacks still plague Egypt almost on a daily basis, and terrorism in Sinai has taken on particularly dire proportions. Why is the Egyptian government failing?