"Very often our police have to wait for reinforcements in the face of an overwhelming presence of armed, unruly elements," he said.

Those armed elements, however, were well-organized, well-funded and had access to modern weaponry.

Despite repeated calls by the UN for international intervention to separate the armed elements from the civilians in need of assistance, there was little response.

The military said that the goal of the operation is to "restore security by pursuing and targeting armed terrorist elements in Sinai."

Those armed elements fired indiscriminately at people, of whom fell 192 people dead and unknown wounded.

With only a few armed elements, and those not properly educated in the party line, little could be accomplished.

Certainly not take on the armed hostile elements that have created the mayhem in this vast area of Africa.

They are frightened because armed elements take the population hostage and take their property.

The soldiers met resistance from armed elements within the protest camp.

And they proved irresistible to various armed elements.