Egyptian security forces killed 12 people and wounded 10 “by accident” when they mistook a convoy of mostly Mexican tourists for a group of militants they were hunting in the desert, the interior ministry said on Monday.
At least two Mexicans were killed, Mexico’s foreign ministry said, though Egyptian security and judicial sources later said that eight Mexicans and four Egyptians were killed, and eight Mexicans and two Egyptians were wounded.
The group of 22 had parked their four 4×4 vehicles off-road on Sunday for a barbecue near the Bahariya oasis, a tourist site in the western desert, when army aircraft suddenly began shelling them from above, security sources said.
As members of the tourist convoy tried to flee, additional security forces on the ground fired on them.
“Mexico condemns these deeds against our citizens and has demanded an exhaustive investigation of what has occurred,” President Enrique Pena Nieto said on his Twitter account.
Mexican Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu told reporters her government had sent a diplomatic note to Egypt, expressing indignation and demanding a full inquiry.
Six Mexicans who survived the incident told Mexico’s ambassador to Egypt they had been bombed by helicopters and an aircraft while they stopped for a break in the desert.
“They each said separately they had been bombarded from the air by a plane and helicopters,” said Massieu.
No details were provided about the identities of the tourists, other than that they had arrived in Egypt on Sept. 11.