Rights group accuses Egyptian forces of war crimes in Sinai
Egyptian security forces have committed widespread abuses against civilians in northern Sinai, some of which amount to war crimes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
Egypt's ground and air forces last year launched a major operation in Sinai to crush Islamist militants behind a wave of attacks against civilians and security forces. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the operation after gunmen killed hundreds of worshippers at a Sinai mosque months earlier.
The HRW report accused security forces of arbitrary arrests including children, torture, extrajudicial killings, collective punishment and forced evictions.
An Egyptian military spokesman denied the report, saying it was based on undocumented sources.
"The armed forces take into consideration the lives of civilians while implementing military operations against terrorist elements by conducting air raids outside population centres," the military said in a statement.
