Egypt to clear El Alamein of landmines and lure tourists
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Egypt is spending £150 million on removing mines from a prime strip of coastline. The area earmarked for demining stretches along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast from El Alamein towards the Libyan border.
The area is home to Bedouin nomads, who frequently fall victim to the 16 million bombs, tank shells and landmines abandoned in the shifting dunes – 619 have been killed since 1982.
The second Battle of El Alamein was a turning point in the Second World War. Montgomery’s Desert Rats and the Allied Eighth Army broke through German lines, pushing Rommel’s forces back to Tunisia and ending the Axis powers’ designs on Middle East oilfields.
The battlefield draws thousands of tourists every year, making their way to the war cemetery to find relatives’ graves or to pick out names of comrades from among the 12,000 inscribed on a memorial to those whose bodies were never found.
The overall development of the area is projected to cost more than £6 billion.
Eventually, developers believe the Mediterranean beaches, planned golf courses and marinas could rival the resorts that line the Red Sea coast to the south.
Plans to build a golf course over part of the battlefield last year provoked fury from veterans’ groups.
Excerpted from an article by Rob Crilly for news.scotsman.com
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