An Egyptian opposition news channel has broadcast a video which allegedly shows Egyptian soldiers executing prisoners in the Sinai region. Mekameleen TV, which broadcast the footage on Thursday night, said that the video was filmed in December 2016 in Sinai. At least two people appear to be shot dead during the two-minute video and other bodies can be seen lying on the ground.
The Mekameleen video shows blindfolded men being taken out of military vehicles by uniformed soldiers. Two of the men are then made to kneel before being shot multiple times. A cameraman can also be seen taking footage of one body. A soldier then appears to remove a gun from next to the body when the cameraman finishes filming. In the video, the victims appear to have their blindfolds removed before being shot. One soldier can be heard saying repeatedly “not just the head” as another shoots one of the victims. The video also shows a Facebook post which appears to show a picture of one of the victims posted on an official military page with a gun next to his arm.
The video shows a young, visibly distressed man being questioned by the officers and pulled by his hair. Soldiers ask him if he is a member of the Abu Sanana family, and he responds “No, I swear to God I’m from al-Awabadah”. They ask him where his grandfather lives and then drag him to the side, push him onto the floor and remove his blindfold. One of the soldiers then shoots him in the head. A second soldier then fires at the body on the ground. The video ends with a statement released by Egypt’s military after the shootings in which it claimed to have neutralised eight “takfiri terrorists”.
Egypt’s security forces already face accusations of carrying out extra-judicial killings in northern Sinai where they have been battling militants affiliated to the Islamic State (IS) group since 2013. Hundreds of people including members of the security forces and civilians have been killed in the fighting. Last month Human Rights Watch said that at least four and as many as 10 people may have been arbitrarily detained and killed in January 2017 with security forces staging a counter-terrorism raid to cover up the killings.
Source: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/leaked-video-shows-egyptian-soldiers-e…
