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Will International Peacekeepers in the Sinai Be the Next Casualty?
(Weekly Standard) David Schenker - Last week, seven Egyptian security officers were released after being held hostage for a week by Bedouin tribesmen in Egyptian Sinai. The abductions are the latest in a series of hostage events and armed attacks that highlight the deterioration of security in the area. While most of these incidents have been aimed at Egyptians, Sinai peacekeepers - the Multinational Force Observers (MFO) - are high on the target list. For the past two years, the contingent has come under frequent attack from local Bedouin and Islamist militants affiliated with al-Qaeda. Just last month, a Hungarian peacekeeper was kidnapped by tribesmen. MFO patrols these days are escorted by Egyptian armor columns. If the 12 nations that contribute troops to the MFO start to take casualties, the force could face attrition. The writer is director of the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.