HRW: Egypt is Committing War Crimes in Sinai

Human Rights Watch has released a new report on Egypt’s Sinai which focuses on the period between late 2013 and July 2020; according to the organization; the massive demolishing of the houses and agricultural areas are described as violations of international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and likely amount to war crimes.

Since 2013, the Egyptian army has illegally destroyed more than 12,000 houses and closed off approximately 6,000 hectares of farmlands, mostly since mid-2016, in which according to the HRW is defined under war crimes.

Translation: “HRW: Egyptian army has destroyed at least 12,350 buildings and removed 6 thousand hectares of farmlands in Sinai since 2013 in what is likely to amount to war crimes,” “I was the first to talk about what happened in Sinai and the crimes that have been going on there and I reaffirm it was by a request from Netanyahu to Sisi.”

On the other hand, the Egyptian government hasn’t responded with enough justifications to what is happening in Sinai despite media outrage. It only revealed that the destruction processes were a must to confront the terrorist group, Wilayat Sinai', which is a local Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate that has been carrying out attacks on military positions.

HRW report states that most of these evictions and thousands of home destructions in fact violate war laws, which prohibit such actions except for absolute military necessity or to ensure the security of the civilians involved. War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law, committed with criminal intent.

Over 100,000 people have left their homes in Sinai not only due to the army’s destruction of houses, but also due to continued war with the armed group with hope to find a safer place, according to the organization.

“Over the past seven years in North Sinai, the Egyptian army has unlawfully evicted tens of thousands of residents, destroying their homes, farms, and livelihoods,” said the deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, Joe Stork. 

He also added: “The demolitions and evictions reflect an abusive official mentality that dismisses the well-being of Sinai residents, which is key to the region’s security and stability.”

Satellite imagery which was recorded in December 2020 indicates continuing demolition in the Rafah area revealing that almost all the destroyed buildings were either residential or commercial in Al-Arish. Moreover, about 3,500 of them were demolished in 2018, after Egyptian leader Al-Sisi announced he will “use extreme violence and a truly brute force” in Sinai ahead of armed group’s attack on the airport in December 2017.

However, the media and witnesses revealed to HRW that the Egyptian army only removed homes of suspected members of Wilayat Sinai’ or their relatives.

Social media users have decried the disaster in Sinai as some were calling for submitting a lawsuit at the international criminal court (ICC) against Egypt’s war crimes in Sinai.

Translation: “Can we file an international lawsuit about that?”

The Egyptian government announced earlier in 2015 that it started to build a “New Rafah” city west of the demolished city in order to find safe homes to accommodate displaced residents from the war in Sinai.