The evacuation of residents at the borders with Israel in North Sinai is “final, not temporary”, said Governor Abdel Fattah Harhour.
The evacuation will be followed by demolition of all housing facilities and the creation of a buffer zone that would “protect Egypt from terrorist dangers," said the governor, citing a decision that followed a deadly suicide and gun attack against Egyptian security forces at the area last Friday, which left 31 personnel dead.
Harhour noted that the buffer zone will stretch over 500 meters from the borderline in North Sinai. The area is home to 1,156 families living in 802 houses that are erected on state property, he added, revealing that residents will be compensated financially.
Egypt has been struggling against a wave of bloody attacks that killed hundreds of security personnel in Sinai since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsy.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
