Scores of bodies have been discovered in a mass grave in northern Egypt by human rights campaigners.
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights found the shallow graves near a military outpost in a rural part of the country previously torn apart by conflict.
They’re believed to be civilians who disappeared and were killed during a conflict between the Egyptian army and ISIS militants between 2013 and 2022.
In the findings shared with The Guardian, the foundation said a source who used to work with the armed forces approached them and revealed the location of the graves.
‘The source indicated that, over the course of several years, army and police forces had secretly buried hundreds of bodies at the two sites, without any formal procedures or burial rites,’ the foundation wrote.
‘He added that some of the victims were extrajudicially executed either at the same locations or elsewhere before being interred there.
‘Many of those killed were not necessarily armed
militants, but rather individuals suspected of involvement without conclusive evidence.’
Egypt continues to deny any forced displacement and civilian casualties during the conflict, but satellite images appear to show sand trenches.
When the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights visited the sites, they found two pits with human remains visible – one of which they couldn’t reach because it was on military land.
Other sources have since confirmed the area is likely a mass grave, citing land clearing and track marks on satellite photos.
The true number of the victims is still unknown.
A member of the foundation told The Guardian: ‘There were so many bodies visible, I couldn’t imagine I would see something like that. These were people who might have once walked beside me on the streets, and now here were their skeletons.
‘The scene was horrific. We all froze from that first moment we stepped into the pit and saw so many corpses superficially buried there.’
Those killed were not given the right to a trial – most are believed to have been killed on suspicion of collaborating with ISIS militants, but this is not confirmed.
A former member of the Egyptian Army told the Sinai Foundation: ‘Many people were killed simply because they were related to a member
of the organisation (ISIS), even if they had no actual involvement.
‘I knew they had nothing to do with it, and that it was about
settling scores—but no one listened to me.
The foundation found one mass grave just metres from the road, with another further away.
‘Human remains were found accompanied by clothing, shoes, and eyeglasses. The garments and items observed were consistent with everyday civilian use, and no traces of military uniforms, insignia, weapons, bulletproof vests, or other equipment were found at the site,’ they wrote.
‘Some skulls retained pieces of cloth tied around the eyes, suggesting that victims had been blindfolded or otherwise restrained prior to death and burial.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
