The Egyptian army strongly condemned on Tuesday a recent Human Rights Watch report claiming the military had “legally” demolished civilian houses in Sinai as part of its campaign against an ISIS affiliate there.
Egyptian Military spokesperson, Tamer Rifaei denied the report, saying it was based on “undocumented sources”.
He stressed that the armed forces were working within a legal framework to create a buffer zone along the Gaza border and around al-Arish airport.
“Egypt’s armed forces are taking all procedures according to the law and all those affected have received compensations of up to 900 million Egyptian pounds,” Rifaei stated.
He added that the army was keen to provide all the basic commodities, administrative and medical needs for Sinai residents after cooperating with the country’s bodies and organizations.
Egypt has witnessed a spike in terrorist activity in wake of the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The security forces have clashed with the ISIS affiliate in northern Sinai, which had turned into terrorist hub after 2013.
On February 9, the army launched a massive operation in northern Sinai, which has so far killed more than 200 militants and more than 30 soldiers, according to the army.
The New York-based HRW released a report on Tuesday, saying the army had left excessive destruction in its wake since the launch of its operation.
Hundreds of hectares of farmland and at least 3,000 homes and commercial buildings were destroyed in the latest wave of destruction, in addition to 600 buildings destroyed in January, said the monitor. It also cited evictions that began in 2014.
The military explained that the evictions were necessary to curb the infiltration of fighters and smuggling of weapons through Gaza tunnels.
