Egyptian parliament criticises Amnesty report on Sina i operations
Organisation published report on Wednesday saying its experts found Egyptian military using cluster bombs
Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, headed by Tarek Radwan, issued a statement on Saturday criticising a report by Amnesty International that included claims the Egyptian military uses internationally banned cluster bombs.
Amnesty published the report on Wednesday, saying the organisation’s experts found the Egyptian military to be using cluster bombs in one of the the daily update videos published about military outcomes in North Sinai. The video was posted on the official Twitter account of the Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson on 9 February.
The Egyptian Parliament denied the claims made by the international organisation, doubting the validity of the organisation’s defence of human rights. The parliamentary statement said the report is “contradictory and a failed attempt to theorise in matters relevant to state sovereignty around a military-led operation to combat terrorism.”
It also said that the organisation issues biased and irrational reports, and stressed that over the past years, the organisation did not issue a statement condemning terrorist operations in Sinai or the media releases of the Islamic State group.
He also added while Amnesty claims to defend human rights, it completely ignores the suffering of the Egyptian people during the war on terror and the martyrs who have sacrificed their lives in the face of “despicable terrorism.”
In the Amnesty report, Najia Bounaim, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, explained that clusters bombs “are inherently indiscriminate weapons that inflict unimaginable suffering for years after their use, and they are internationally banned for this reason.” She suggested the Egyptian Air Force has either “already used or is intending to use these bombs.”
The report further cited another human rights violation by the Egyptian military, something that was repeatedly denied by Egypt.The violation it cited was an instance where F-16 fighter jets carried out airstrikes on densely populated residential areas in Sinai in 2015, which the report said killed dozens of residents, including children.
Last week, Egypt’s army spokesperson Tamer El-Refaei announced launching the comprehensive operation Sinai 2018, which includes plans to confront terrorist and criminal elements and organisations in central and North Sinai and in other areas in the Nile Delta and desert areas west of the Nile Valley.The Egyptian military is publishing daily updates on the operation in Sinai that involves Egyptian infantry, naval, and air forces, as well as police and border guards.