Egypt army razed more than 12,300 buildings in Sinai: HRW

The rights group says demolition of 12,350 buildings in the peninsula between 2013 and 2020 amounted to ‘war crimes’.

Egyptian troops have demolished more than 12,300 buildings in the Sinai Peninsula since 2013 in a campaign of forced evictions that likely amount to “war crimes”, according to United States-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW). A decade-old rebellion in North Sinai province escalated in 2013 when the army overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi. “Between late 2013 and July 2020, the army destroyed at least 12,350 buildings, mostly homes, most recently in the El Arish area,” HRW said on Wednesday.