Mexico demands ‘thorough’ investigation into killing of countrymen in Egypt

Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu arrived in Egypt yesterday and demanded a “thorough” and “transparent” investigation into the incident in which the Egyptian army killed eight Mexican tourists by mistake during a security operation against jihadists.

“We expect an exhaustive and complete and comprehensive and transparent investigation,” Ruiz Massieu told reporters.

During her visit to Cairo, Massieu visited survivors of the attack.

On Sunday, eight Mexicans and the four Egyptians who were escorting them were killed and tens of others wounded when army aircrafts and helicopters raided their convoy in Egypt’s tourist-frequented Western Desert.

The Egyptian government has apologised for the incident, but insisted that the tourists had entered an off-limits area and had been mistakenly killed while security forces chased militants.

On Tuesday, Egyptian Preisdent Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi telephoned Mexican President Pena Nieto to express his condolences over the incident.