1. The Egyptian Army’s Counterinsurgency: History, Past Operations, and the Sinai Campaign
- Author:
- Hossam el-Hamalawy
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- Why did the Egyptian military, which had long avoided serious involvement in the police-led 1990s domestic War on Terror and the later fight against armed militants in Sinai, embark on a major counterinsurgency in Sinai following the 2013 coup? Why did it take the Egyptian military almost a decade to pacify the peninsula at a very high cost for Sinai residents and the military itself, despite the small size of the insurgent force and the relatively confined terrain where it operated? This paper will attempt to answer those questions, but first, it examines some catastrophic precedents where the army deployed its personnel in counterinsurgency operations, before delving into the recent Sinai war and what it tells us about the military’s mindset.
- Topic:
- Security, Counterinsurgency, History, and Military
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, North Africa, Egypt, and Sinai Peninsula