This is an excellent thread on Al-Jazeera Arabic TV’s farcical report on Egypt’s ’s anti-terrorism operation in #Sinai.
Thread. Everything wrong with the first episode of Aljazeera's new programme on #Sinai. #سيناء_حروب_التيهhttps://t.co/1QFJNoYVdM
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
First is the utterly misleading way they presented Egyptian casualties. Claiming an estimated 2000 killed in action during operation Sinai alone from 2014 to now.
They base these figures on an average taken from @EgyArmySpox and Sinai Province releases. One pic.twitter.com/yQFaRqbRSL
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
One tends to oversell casualties while the other rarely reports on any KIA unless it is a result of a large attack. This average is way off.
Open Source investigations put Egyptian casulties as a result of Counter Terror actions or attacks at 1163 from 2011 in Sinai. pic.twitter.com/RbIXIjH3T1
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
They have nearly doubled the amount of Egyptian casualties and attempted to make it look much worse than it is (it is still bad) by claiming that number [2000] were killed in four years rather than seven. https://t.co/UIvqmj1FxW
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
Second, they continually attempt to pin Egyptian HVT killings on collaborators within Security Forces. Yet present no evidence to back up the assertions or even look at other rational possibilities.
For investigators confident in this theory they haven't identified one suspect pic.twitter.com/PZjdtEFOE2
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
Third, attempts to paint former military personnel and Officers (Eshmawi et al) as defectors to the Islamic State. This shows both a misunderstanding of timelines and the jihadist organisations operating in Egypt. pic.twitter.com/j3tSiLJAX2
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
The "expert" who is brought in attempts to pin these ex Officers as the founders of the group and current leaders. Most of these men (who were kicked out of the Army well before insurgency) jumped ship to AQ when Ansar Beit Almaqdis pledged fealty to IS in November 2014. pic.twitter.com/lO54N4OjpW
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
There are only a handful of these cases and most are either dead or on the run.
Eshmawi's Almurabitun (AQ) operating out of Libya suffered heavily after the Wahat attack and subsequent LNA operations to take Derna.
This whole defection narrative falls flat when analysed. pic.twitter.com/nMfm2Lgdz1
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
Fourth mistake is parroting Sinai Province propaganda. Equating Egyptian state backed militias (@SinaiTribes) to US support for Sunni militias (Sahwat) in the occupation of Iraq.
Stripping the locals of Sinai of their agency and completely misunderstanding the nature of the coop pic.twitter.com/fGxowA2JbN
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
I actually hate myself for watching 50 minutes of over dramatized guess work.
They continually refer to Sinai Province as its 2014-15 self. Not what the group is like today.
— Egypt Defence Review (@EgyGreenfly) July 30, 2018
Al-Jazeera’s goal, by publishing such despicable program, is to discredit the Egyptian army’s anti-terrorism operation #Sinai2018, but it indirectly vindicates Sisi’s claim that #Qatar plots against #Egypt and backs terror groups.
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) July 30, 2018
