CAIRO: Egypt’s armed forces yesterday warned citizens to remain vigilant to people posing as army officers after fabrics used to make military uniforms were seized en route to the neighboring Gaza Strip.

Army spokesman Ahmed Mohammed Ali said army troops had confiscated the khaki and white fabrics “similar to those used for uniforms” as they were about to be smuggled into Gaza via tunnels in the Sinai peninsula.

The army “urges Egyptian citizens to be cautious and increase security awareness in the coming period in anticipation of the possibility of (people) posing as military officers,” Ali said.

Recent press reports have suggested that Palestinians entered Egypt with plans to destabilize security, something Gaza’s Hamas rulers have vehemently denied.

Senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahar stressed that Hamas “is keen on Egypt’s security and does not want to engage in any clash with anyone,” in a recent interview with the state-owned MENA news agency.

He said stories in the media based on unidentified sources “are just meant to pit the Egyptians and Gazans against each other.”

Recent media reports suggested that Hamas elements had infiltrated Egypt through Gaza tunnels. Another report said seven Gazans held at Cairo airport were in possession of maps of vital establishments in the country.

Meanwhile, Egyptian security officials say vigilantes beat two alleged thieves, stripped them half-naked and then hung them in public in a small Nile Delta town. Both the men died.

The officials say the two men had stolen a rickshaw from a town in the province of Gharbiya. Angry residents in the town of Samanod beat the two suspects and hung them from a tree in a bus station yesterday.

Security officials say residents who tried to help free the two men were pushed back by others in a crowd. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Thousands of Egyptian policemen are on strike, prompting the attorney general last week to release a statement encouraging citizen arrests.

Similar attacks have happened elsewhere in Egypt, where security has deteriorated since the uprising two years ago.