Egypt Security Sector Report
From bulldozers in Sinai to Huawei surveillance towers in the New Administrative Capital, this week’s stories trace the expanding architecture of authoritarian control—from the periphery to the heart of the regime. The military is reasserting itself as landowner, developer, educator, and gatekeeper of food and data, while the police and intelligence services deepen their monopoly over violence, information, and public space.
Whether in mass disappearances, the militarization of education, or trials of civilians before military courts, the state is tightening its grip under the banner of modernization and security. The IMF sees it, Huawei enables it, migrants die from it, and dissidents vanish into it.
📁 Sinai Bulldozers Return
Demolitions resumed last week around al-Arish Port to expand military- and UAE-backed infrastructure, displacing families without due process. Police troops accompanied the bulldozers.
The residents held protests, chanting against the UAE and Egyptian governments. The evictions are taking place under Presidential Decrees 330/2019 and 465/2021, which transferred over 540 feddans (2.27 km²) to the Armed Forces.
The demolitions had previously sparked mass protests in 2023, prompting Lt. Gen. Kamel el-Wazir (currently the Transport and Industry Minister) to promise a halt and fair compensation—pledges that were never fulfilled.