Disengagement continued to operate smoothly today on the Egyptian front. Both sides continued to thin out their forces as the Israel-held salient on the west bank of the Suez Canal was progressively reduced in size in accordance with the disengagement timetable.
Israel army vehicles loaded with men and equipment continued to cross to the east bank of the canal as engineers systematically dismantled the pontoon bridges they had thrown up earlier across the waterway. Within a few days the only serviceable bridge across the canal will be an earthen bridge. It will be handed over to the UN on Feb. 21, the date the last Israeli troops are scheduled to cross from the west to the east side of the canal. The bridge will be dismantled when Egypt starts to clear the canal for shipping.
Officers of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) were scheduled to carry out another inspection today of the extent of demilitarization in both the Israeli and Egyptian sectors. The UN supervised the return today of the first contingent of a group of about 60 Egyptian soldiers who were captured or who surrendered to Israeli forces after the cease-fire went into effect. The exchange took place on the Blooza-Kantara road in northern Sinai.
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