Civilians are getting caught in the crossfire in the fight against Daesh affiliates in Northern Sinai, Heba Saleh writes for the Financial Times. “You can expect anything here and nothing is guaranteed,” an Arish resident tells Saleh. “A stray bullet or shell can hit anyone and an arrest can happen anytime. This makes people fearful so they reduce their movements. There are civilian victims every day.” Mokhtar Awad, research fellow at the programme on extremism at George Washington University, says the Egyptian Army has scored many successes, but it is hard to assess how close they are to suppressing the insurgency. He says “there has to be trust between the people and the police for the success of a counterinsurgency strategy.”

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