More than three weeks after the military coup that ousted Egypt's first democratically elected — and Islamist — president from power, the roots of a violent insurgency are burrowing fast into the sands of the Sinai Peninsula.
The rapid thud of machine-gun fire and the explosions of rocket-propelled grenades have begun to shatter the silence of the desert days and nights there with startling regularity, as militants assault the military and police forces stationed across this volatile territory that borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.
The emerging Sinai crisis gives Egypt's military a pretext to crack down on Islamist opponents across the country, including in Cairo, where dozens were killed over the weekend when security forces opened fire on demonstrators rallying in support of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.