A large number of smuggled weapons from neighboring Libya are showing up inside Egypt, Egyptian junta officials in Cairo warn. But the missiles aren’t showing up near the Libyan border, instead popping up in arms markets on the opposite side of the country, in the Sinai Peninsula.
Weapons of all shapes and sizes are reported, but perhaps the biggest concern is that Egyptian military officials have intercepted some shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), something NATO officials have confirmed left the country in large amounts.
It isn’t too hard to imagine why there’d be a particular demand for SAMs in Sinai, which borders the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes are bombing the tiny strip pretty much constantly, and the militant factions inside Gaza have no real anti-aircraft capabilities.
If the missiles do end up in Gaza, the Israeli bombing runs will be considerably less convenient. This could be just the first of issues created by the SAMs, as experts say enough missiles went missing to turn the entire north of Africa into a “no-fly zone.”
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some good news at last
So small are these hand-held ground to air missiles, with so little rocket fuel and such a small explosive, low flying close helicopters are about all it can target.
Ooooh, boogie, oogie! Let's invade Egypt now.
BTW, USan made weapons are showing up all over the world. So, maybe we should consider this as a small act of resistance.