The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, in cooperation with the multidisciplinary research agency (Forensic Architecture), revealed the results of a rights investigation indicating the existence of a site suspected of being a mass grave in North Sinai, which, according to the foundation, may have been used to bury the bodies of civilians during the military operations carried out by the Egyptian army against militants of the “ISIS” organisation in the period between 2013 and 2019. The announcement of these results came after a series of analyses that included satellite images and field data, collected by the Sinai Foundation and subsequently subjected to visual and spatial verification by the Forensic Architecture team, an independent research agency specialising in the analysis of visual evidence.
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights is scheduled to deliver an oral statement before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 23 September to present the results of this investigation, stressing that the step comes as part of its efforts to shed light on the violations that it says have affected the civilian population in North Sinai. Since 2013, human rights organisations have repeatedly accused the Egyptian Armed Forces of committing grave violations during their campaign against the armed groups affiliated with the “ISIS” organisation.
The report, a copy of which Zawia3 obtained, shows that the site that was analysed contains at least 36 human skulls, documented by visual evidence. The Sinai Foundation indicates that the real number of victims may be much higher, given the presence of remains inside the site that have not yet been documented. The foundation adds that the area witnessed intense activity during the peak of the military campaign between 2015 and 2017, represented in what it describes as the tracks of multiple vehicles believed to have entered the pits suspected of being mass burial sites. According to the analysis, the foundation considers it likely that these vehicles were military or connected to the Armed Forces.
In detail, as the three-dimensional reconstruction of the positions of the remains gathered by the field research shows, the researchers identified at least 36 skulls visible on the surface or visible in the filmed material. By contrast, the foundation’s estimates indicate that the actual number of remains buried in the two pits may be much higher, and the foundation estimates that the total remains may exceed 300 people in the two pits together.
Indications of Tight Military Control Around the Site
The results of the investigation indicate that the infrastructure surrounding the site underwent major transformations between 2013 and 2016, including the construction of facilities believed to be military and the removal of civilian infrastructure that had existed. According to the Sinai Foundation’s report, these changes are an indication of tight military control in the area, especially after a strict curfew was imposed from 2014, which made it, according to the foundation, difficult or unlikely for any non-military party to access the site repeatedly or to carry out burials without being discovered.
A sequential analysis of satellite images, conducted by the investigation team in cooperation with the Forensic Architecture agency, shows gradual changes around the site between 2005 and 2023, most notably the development of a network of military positions within a radius of 8 kilometres. The images show the appearance of seven new positions between August 2013 and 2015, followed by two additional positions in 2016.
The report indicates that these changes, along with the construction of sand barriers and trenches linking some of the positions, show an escalating pattern of what the foundation describes as the “militarisation of the area”, and an actual restriction of civilians’ movement around the site. The Forensic Architecture team also confirms that the most prominent periods of activity inside the site coincide with the peak of the military operations between 2015 and 2017.
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Military Responsibility Deemed Likely
The results of the analysis conducted by the Sinai Foundation in cooperation with (Forensic Architecture) indicate that the circumstances surrounding the site, including the regular movement of vehicles suspected of being military and the structural changes in the area, point towards favouring the hypothesis that military parties were involved in burying human remains inside the site. The two organisations say that this hypothesis is based on the pattern of intensive militarisation and the state of restricted movement imposed on civilians since 2014.
One of the researchers at (Forensic Architecture) says that the volume of data and testimonies collected by the Sinai Foundation, which underwent technical analysis, contributes to building a preliminary picture of the nature of the alleged violations in North Sinai, which the foundation attributes to the Egyptian military forces. The researcher added that the evidence points to deliberate attempts to erase the traces of these violations by burying the victims in mass graves that are difficult to discover. He called for broad international pressure to demand a full and transparent investigation into the site that was identified, stressing that the issue is directly linked to the file of impunity under which the Egyptian army has operated for years.
Accounts by Prisoners and Witnesses of Alleged Killings
The report includes testimonies from a number of former detainees and members of local groups cooperating with the military forces, stating that some detainees were transferred from their places of detention without their fate being known afterwards. One of the accounts, given by an operative cooperating with the army, alleges that transfers were made to outside sites where field executions are believed to have been carried out.
The report also includes documentation of a number of incidents that the foundation describes as extrajudicial killings, which took place over the past years, especially between 2016 and 2017. The attached material (videos and photos) indicates the presence of bodies and traces of gunfire, which the foundation says intersect with testimonies from the families of civilians who were detained or forcibly disappeared, and which are considered, according to the rights analysis, among the indicators supporting the idea of the systematic use of secret burial sites.
In light of the above, both the Sinai Foundation and the (Forensic Architecture) agency called for an independent and transparent international investigation into this site and other similar sites, with neutral forensic excavations to be allowed in order to determine the identities of the victims and the causes of death. The two organisations also called for the establishment of a UN committee or a specialised international mechanism to monitor the human rights situation in North Sinai, and called for the suspension or review of international security cooperation with the Egyptian agencies until serious steps are taken towards investigation and accountability, in addition to supporting efforts to document the remains and ensuring the victims’ families a dignified burial.
It is worth noting that the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights is an independent, non-partisan organisation that focuses on documenting the violations affecting civilians in North Sinai, and works to promote civil, political, economic and cultural rights through field reports and international advocacy.
As for Forensic Architecture, it is a research agency based at Goldsmiths University in London, comprising a multidisciplinary team that works on analysing visual and spatial evidence on behalf of international legal and rights bodies, and the results of its research are presented before courts and international bodies and at public events.
