(TIME) Abigail Hausloher - The mass uprising that unseated Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made waves in Sinai as well. On Jan. 28, Bedouins clashed with police in towns across Sinai. That night, the police withdrew from their posts and never came back. For years the Bedouin communities of Sinai have relied heavily on smuggling as a means of survival in a territory with few other economic options. People, diesel, iron rebar, cement, and Libyan cars remain top trafficking commodities. Palestinians - still weighed down by strict border entry regulations into Egypt - move freely through the tunnels between Egypt and Gaza. In Egyptian Rafah, on Gaza's border, Kias, Toyotas, and luxury cars - many with their Libyan license plates still attached - await their underground passage into Gaza.
2011-08-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive