Egyptian Soldiers Kill Unarmed Men in Leaked Video

A video has emerged that shows Egyptian soldiers shooting dead unarmed detainees in the northern Sinai region, where the military is carrying out an anti-terror offensive.

The footage, which is unverified, appears to show military officers rearranging the scene to make it seem as if a gun battle had taken place, BBC reported.

Soldiers are shown apparently placing weapons beside the dead bodies. A pro-government news site has said that the 2016 video is a fabrication.

So far, there has been no comment from the Egyptian military, which has previously released footage—apparently from the same incident late last year—saying it had eliminated a “dangerous terrorist cell” after a heavy exchange of gunfire.

Human rights group Amnesty International said it had analyzed the footage. It showed “cold blooded killings”, which it said should be urgently investigated by the Egyptian authorities.

The footage, which emerged on Thursday, was apparently filmed with a mobile phone and has been broadcast on Mekameleen TV, a station that supports the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

It appears to show two detainees being shot at point-blank range by Egyptian soldiers. One man is already on the ground when he is shot four times. Later, a rifle appears by his side.

A younger man, who appears to be unarmed, is blindfolded and briefly interrogated before apparently being shot dead.

Egypt’s Army has, for years, been carrying out an offensive against militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula, where an affiliate of the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group is active.

However, Najia Bounaim, Amnesty International’s campaigns director for North Africa, said there had also been a “disturbing pattern” of apparent extrajudicial executions in the area.

The organization is also calling for an investigation into the deaths of six men who were allegedly killed in police custody in North Sinai in January.

Caption: Egypt’s military patrol in the Sinai Peninsula (File Photo)