Egypt’s gov’t to ease curfew hours in North Sinai for Eid Al-Fitr

Egypt’s cabinet decided on Tuesday to shorten the curfew hours imposed in North Sinai to allow residents to perform Eid Al-Fitr prayers on time, state-owned MENA reported.

According to MENA, the curfew will be decreased for one hour only next Friday, ending at 5 AM instead of 6 AM in North Sinai Governorate.

The Eid Al-Fitr prayers will be held at 5:20 AM. Most Muslims usually perform the Eid Al-Fitr prayer at mosques and public squares.

Last April, the curfew imposed in North Sinai was extended for another three months by a presidential decree.

Egypt’s army has been fighting a decade-long militant Islamist insurgency that has spiked since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in the summer of 2013, following nationwide protests against his rule.

Hundreds of police and soldiers, as well as civilians, were killed in militant attacks in the months following.

Sinai-based and Islamic-affiliated militant group, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, claims most attacks against the army and police personnel in the peninsula.

source:Ahram Online