TELL Magazine

The Egypt government has apologised after 12 people, including eight Mexican tourists, were mistakenly killed on Sunday  by security forces in an anti-terror operation. Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab offered his apologies in a phone call to the Mexican ambassador in Cairo, “I have phoned Mexican Ambassador Alvarez Fuentes
to reassure him that the injured are receiving proper medical care and that the government apologises for
the foreign casualties,”,he said.
The tourists reportedly had permission to travel to a remote area of the Western Desert,but  the interior ministry insists they entered a
restricted area.  Ten Mexicans and Egyptians were injured in the operation. Security officials put the number of
Mexican tourists killed at eight, although this is yet to be confirmed by Mexico, with four Egyptians dead.
Egypt has been battling Islamist militants for years, with attacks escalating since the 2013 ousting of
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
While the vast Western Desert is a popular tourist site, it has become increasingly dangerous because of
the deteriorating security situation in Libya.
Meanwhile,Mexico’s president and his foreign minister have called for an exhaustive investigation to get to the
bottom of what actually happened.
The tourists were reportedly  bombed by helicopters and aircraft when they
stopped for a break.