A U.S.-military dominated peacekeeping force of 1,650 troops in Egypt\u2019s Sinai Peninsula is finding itself caught between restive Bedouin tribesmen and an escalating Egyptian army offensive against insurgents.<\/p>\n
At least one of the extremist groups operating in the Sinai has called for the expulsion of U.S. troops from the desert peninsula, raising the prospect that a military task force created three decades ago as a buffer between Egypt and Israel could become a target as tensions increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re now confronted by a population that was once passive and peaceful and has now turned belligerent,\u201d\u009d said Agustin Espinosa, the Uruguayan ambassador in Cairo, whose country has the fourth-largest contingent in the little-known Multinational Force and Observers. \u201cFor a force that has not been used to these type of external pressures and that is not configured as a strike force, this has created a new set of challenges.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n