The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, working with the research agency Forensic Architecture, has released the findings of an investigation pointing to a suspected mass grave in North Sinai. The foundation says the site may have been used to bury civilians during the Egyptian military’s operations against Islamic State militants between 2013 and 2019.
The findings draw on satellite imagery and field evidence collected by the foundation and subsequently subjected to visual and spatial analysis by Forensic Architecture, an independent research agency specialising in such evidence.
The foundation is scheduled to deliver an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 23 September 2025 to present its findings. It says the move forms part of its efforts to draw attention to alleged violations against civilians in North Sinai. Since 2013, human rights organisations have repeatedly accused Egypt’s armed forces of serious abuses during their campaign against Islamic State-affiliated armed groups.
The report, a copy of which Zawia3 obtained, identifies at least 36 human skulls through visual evidence. The foundation says the actual number of victims could be substantially higher because further remains at the site have not yet been documented.
According to the investigation, the site saw intensive activity at the height of the military campaign between 2015 and 2017. The researchers describe tracks left by multiple vehicles apparently entering pits suspected of being burial sites. Their analysis suggests the vehicles may have been military vehicles or otherwise connected to the armed forces.
Researchers identified at least 36 skulls visible on the surface or in recorded material. The foundation estimates that the two pits could contain the remains of more than 300 people; this is an estimate, distinct from the number visually documented.
The researchers used three-dimensional reconstruction to map the positions of remains recorded during fieldwork.
Signs of tight military control around the site
The investigation describes significant changes to infrastructure around the site between 2013 and 2016, including the construction of what the researchers believe were military installations and the removal of civilian infrastructure.
The foundation interprets these changes as evidence of tight military control, particularly following the introduction of a strict curfew in 2014. In its assessment, these conditions would have made it difficult or unlikely for non-military actors to access the site repeatedly or conduct burials without detection.
A chronological analysis of satellite imagery, conducted with Forensic Architecture, traces changes around the site between 2005 and 2023. It identifies the development of a network of military positions within an eight-kilometre radius: seven new positions appeared between August 2013 and 2015, followed by two more in 2016.
The report links these developments, including sand barriers and trenches connecting some positions, to what the foundation describes as the area’s increasing militarisation and restrictions on civilian movement.
Forensic Architecture’s analysis also places the most prominent periods of activity inside the site alongside the peak of military operations between 2015 and 2017.
Researchers point to possible military involvement
The Sinai Foundation and Forensic Architecture argue that the circumstances surrounding the site—including repeated movements by vehicles suspected of being military vehicles and structural changes in the surrounding area—support the hypothesis that military actors were involved in burying human remains there. They base this assessment on the concentration of military infrastructure and restrictions on civilian movement imposed since 2014.
A Forensic Architecture researcher says the evidence and testimony gathered by the foundation and subjected to technical analysis help establish an initial understanding of the alleged abuses in North Sinai, which the foundation attributes to Egyptian military forces.
The researcher argues that the evidence points to deliberate attempts to conceal the alleged abuses by burying victims in mass graves that would be difficult to discover. The researcher calls for broad international pressure for a full, transparent investigation of the identified site, linking the case to what the researcher describes as longstanding impunity for the Egyptian military.
Former detainees and witnesses describe alleged killings
The report includes testimony from former detainees and members of local groups cooperating with military forces. They describe detainees being taken from detention facilities whose fate subsequently remained unknown. One account, attributed to an individual who worked with the military, alleges that detainees were taken to outside locations where summary executions were believed to have occurred.
The foundation also documents several incidents that it characterises as extrajudicial killings, particularly in 2016 and 2017. Photographs and video material accompanying the report show bodies and apparent gunshot marks. The foundation says this evidence is consistent with testimony from families of civilians who were detained or forcibly disappeared, and considers it among the indications supporting its allegation of systematic use of clandestine burial sites.
The Sinai Foundation and Forensic Architecture call for an independent, transparent international investigation into this and similar sites, including impartial forensic excavations to establish the victims’ identities and causes of death.
They also call for a UN commission or specialised international mechanism to monitor human rights in North Sinai; the suspension or reconsideration of international security cooperation with Egyptian agencies pending serious steps towards investigation and accountability; and support for documenting the remains and securing dignified burials for victims’ families.
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights is an independent, non-partisan organisation focused on documenting violations against civilians in North Sinai and promoting civil, political, economic and cultural rights through field reporting and international advocacy.
Forensic Architecture is a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London. Its multidisciplinary team analyses visual and spatial evidence for legal and human rights organisations. Its findings are presented in courts, international bodies and public forums.
