Dar Al-Ifta supports tribal alliances against terrorism

CAIRO – 1 May 2017: The alliance between Sinai tribes and Egypt's armed forces against terrorism is a "patriotic" step on the way to destroying the Islamic State group’s (IS) dream, Dar Al-Ifta, Egypt's official religious institution, said in a statement Monday.

The statement comes in response to an initiative launched by a North Sinai tribe on Friday calling for a unified stance among tribes in Sinai to combat “takfiri” militants.

Dar Al-Ifta highlighted the importance of such tribal alliances, as well as armed control, to "eliminate the roots of terrorism and terrorists' alleged domination over areas in the Sinai."

"Many of these terrorist groups operate in residential areas and among the people of Sinai, which hinders the movement of security services," the statement read, stressing that the cooperation of the tribes with the army will help reveal these organizations and eliminate their defensive measures by hiding in populated areas.

Dar Al-Ifta called for all tribes to join in similar alliances, saying they prove "the burden of combating terrorist organizations does not fall only on the army and security institutions but calls for everyone's cooperation."

The initiative launched by Sinai's Tarabeen tribe came as a reaction to tense clashes that erupted a week earlier in al-Barth market, south of Rafah, between IS militants and tribesmen, leading to a number of casualties.