Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Representatives of the Arab League meet Thursday in Cairo to discuss the deadly attacks on military checkpoints in North Sinai which occurred the previous day; the emergency session was reportedly requested by Egypt.
The Arab League is convening an emergency session on Thursday in connection with the July 1 attacks by Islamic State militants on military checkpoints in North Sinai; the simultaneous assaults on more than fifteen military checkpoints killed scores of people, including seventeen soldiers.On Wednesday, Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby condemned the attacks, urging the international community to contribute to the Egyptian government fighting terrorism and defying the terrorist groups.
During the emergency meeting, the Arab League permanent envoys are also expected to signal their support for Egypt’s efforts to combat terrorism.
Earlier, the country’s military pledged to rid the Sinai Peninsula of militants from the Islamic State, saying that military operations will not stop until the area is cleared of all “terrorist concentrations.”
The Arab League stressed the necessity of bolstering international cooperation to fight the Islamic State back in 2014, when Nabil Elaraby specifically underscored the need to take a “clear decision for a comprehensive confrontation, militarily and politically.”
During a summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in late March 2015, the Arab League agreed, among other things, to create a joint military force to address a spate of pressing regional challenges, including the rise of the Islamic State.Meanwhile, the Russian daily Kommersant has quoted several prominent Russian political experts as describing the Wednesday attack on Sinai as “a new chapter in the Islamic State’s expansion in the Middle East.”
