Human Rights Watch is calling for the suspension of military aid to Egypt after a video leaked by an Islamist TV channel showed troops appearing to carry out cold-blooded executions of as many as eight detainees in the northern Sinai Peninsula, where the army is embroiled in battles with the Islamic State militant movement.
HRW said members of Egypt’s military intelligence are shown directing the executions before placing rifles next to bodies to depict the dead as militants killed in a raid.
The video was aired on a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated network called Mekameleen on Thursday and Egypt’s army spokesperson could not be reached for comments.
Human Rights Watch said as many as eight unarmed detainees may have been killed, though only two executions are clear in the video.
It is also not clear from the video when the executions took place, but the rights group says two of the victims appeared in official press releases from the Egyptian army in November and December, including the official webpage of the armed forces spokesperson.
Egypt’s police have received a fleet of vehicles equipped with detention rooms and sophisticated technological equipment to apprehend extremists and criminals.
