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                     Seven Egyptian Hostages Freed in Sinai

   by Edward Yeranian

   Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi welcomed seven young soldiers and
   policemen at a military airport in Cairo after militants in the Sinai
   released them early Wednesday. The men were seized while traveling in
   northern Sinai on May 16.
   The release around dawn Wednesday came after hours of intense
   negotiations between Egyptian intelligence officials and tribal leaders
   in the Sinai.
   Morsi called on the people of Sinai to "give up their arms" and hand
   over their weapons and pursue their grievances at the negotiating
   table:
   He called on armed parties in the Sinai to turn over their arms because
   he said no one should possess weapons other than the police or the
   army. He said the government is responsible for everyone's security and
   that those with grievances should present them at the negotiating
   table.
   Morsi also vowed to improve economic conditions in the Sinai, a
   long-standing grievance of local Bedouin tribes. He promised better
   health care and education facilities.
   ''The peninsula has become increasingly lawless since former Egyptian
   President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011.
   In the streets of Cairo, word of the release spread quickly. The
   killings of 16 Egyptian soldiers last summer spawned a sense of
   national outrage that has yet to die down.
   Public anger over insecurity in the Sinai, as well as in other parts of
   the country, has many commentators in the Egyptian press urging strong
   action.
   On Monday, Morsi ruled out negotiating with the captors, saying there
   was "no room for dialogue with the criminals."
   Egyptian troops launched a sweep of north Sinai on Tuesday.
   Islamist militants in northern Sinai have used the lack of central
   authority to carry out attacks across the border into Israel. And there
   have been several incidents in which Western tourists and other
   foreigners have been kidnapped in the peninsula.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/seven-egyptian-hostages-freed-in-sina
   i/1666108.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/seven-egyptian-hostages-freed-in-sinai/1666108.html