Curfew hours in North Sinai shortened during parliamentary polls

Curfew hours imposed in some parts of Egypt’s troubled North Sinai governorate will be reduced Sunday and Monday to start at 11:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm, to make it easier for locals to vote in the parliamentary elections.

The curfew will also start at 11pm during the election runoffs, to take place on 1 and 2 December, Egypt’s High Election Committee said in a Saturday statement

North Sinai is one of the 13 Egyptian governorates where voters will cast their ballots in the second phase of the parliamentary elections. The first phase of the parliamentary elections took place in 14 governorates in October.

The curfew in North Sinai’s El-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, among other areas, was first imposed on 25 October 2014 for a three-month period, one day after 31 army personnel were killed in an attack by Islamist militants. The curfew has since been renewed on a regular three-month basis.

Egypt has been facing an Islamist insurgency that has primarily targeted policemen and security installations in Sinai, with attacks seeing a dramatic increase after the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

In October, the Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson announced that Egypt’s army had gained full control over the North Sinai areas of El-Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuwaid after successful raids on “terrorist strongholds” and weapons caches.

source: Ahram Online