A National Council for Human Rights committee arrived to Arish earlier last week to investigate the living conditions of the residents in Rafah who have been displaced since the military-backed government's campaign to clamp down on terrorism in the Sinai.
The committee paid visits to some of Arish neighborhoods and listened to the resident's complaints, but then residents say disappeared without visiting Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayed to investigate complaints, where citizens are suffering from a severe shortage of basic services, although field visits to the two cities were among its top priorities.
"As usual, the committee will release its report on Sinai conditions even though it hasn't even reached Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah. I wish I could reach the committee to inform them that we had a power cut that lasted for more than two months and we're unable to provide our children with drinking water! Hadn't the committee been aware of how much we suffer?" said Mohamed Abo-Eid, one of Sheikh Zuwayed locals.
The governorate's Pharmacists Syndicate Head, Hossam Elrefai, said that he hoped that the committee could help these conflict-stricken areas and investigate the reasons behind the forced displacement of citizens.
In his meeting with the delegation of Egyptian human rights, Governor Abdel-Fatah Harhour insisted that a special attention is being paid to people in Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah, and he promised to provide basic services.
Many residents in Sinai have been forced to evacuate their homes following severe confrontations with militants and security forces, as well as the government's establishment of a 1-km buffer zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
