Rights group: 30 civilians killed in Sinai in April

Thirty civilians were killed in northern Sinai in April at the hands of the Egyptian army and armed groups, the Sinai Organisation for Human Rights has revealed.

According to the Palestinian news agency Safa, the Geneva-based organisation said that at least 30 civilians were killed, including seven children and three women.

The organisation also said that around 28 civilians were wounded during the same period, including eight children and one woman, noting that most of the violations took place in the city of Rafah and Al-Arish.

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It noted that most of the civilians were killed and wounded in arbitrary tank shelling and live fire by government forces stationed at checkpoints and during security campaigns.

Meanwhile, the organisation said that some of the victims were killed as a result of roadside bombs planted along the highways. It noted that it monitored “notable movements” of armed groups that kidnapped and attempted to assassinate civilians.

The organisation noted that it is difficult to count all the violations against civilians in Sinai because the Egyptian government does not publish detailed information about what is going on in Sinai and at the same time does not cooperate with anyone collecting information about violations in the area.

The human rights group held the Egyptian government fully responsible for the “flagrant violations” against civilians and local residents. It called for urgent investigations into the crimes being carried out there.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian army announced it had arrested 22 citizens over suspicions of carrying out terrorist attacks in northern Sinai, adding that it had destroyed a ten-metre-deep tunnel between Sinai and Gaza.