Mexico Condemns Killing Of Tourists In Egypt, Demands Investigation Amid

The disastrous shooting up by Egyptian security forces of a tourist convoy in the Western Desert is yet another sign of growing instability in the Arab world’s most populous country.

At least two Mexicans were killed, Mexico’s foreign ministry confirmed in a statement.

Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, called the killings “tragic” and demanded Sunday on Twitter that Egypt investigate them thoroughly.

The Mexican ambassador to Egypt visited five other nationals being treated at the Dar al-Fouad hospital in Giza, a southwestern Cairo suburb, where they were listed in stable condition, according to the secretariat.

It said the incident happened on Sunday in an area that “was off limits to foreign tourists”, but it did not give an exact location.

Mexico’s foreign minister flew to Cairo late Monday to seek answers from Egyptian authorities over an air strike that mistakenly killed Mexican tourists. Two days later, she said, they left the capital to visit the Bahariya Oasis, and came under attack from “bombs launched from airplanes and helicopters” when their tour bus stopped at the side of the road for a break.

At least a dozen tourists and their guides have been killed in what is reported to be an accidental attack on their convoy by Egyptian security forces.

Egypt has been dealing with Islamist terrorism for years, particularly in the country’s Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt’s interior ministry did not indicate whether the tourists were targeted with automatic weapons or aerial bombardment during the operation against fighters on the Al Wahat district.

Gabriela Bejarano (R), sister of Rafael Bejarano, one of the eight Mexicans killed in an incident in Egypt, leaves the Government Palace after a meeting with local officials in Guadalajara, Mexico, September 14, 2015.

The jihadist group claims regular deadly attacks targeting security forces, especially in the desert of Sinai, in the east, their main stronghold.

The Egyptian officials reportedly fired on the tourist convoy, mistaking it for militants while “chasing terrorist elements” in the area, according to the Egyptian interior ministry. “The vehicles used by the tourist convoy closely resembled those of the militants the joint force had been pursuing, security sources said”.

Education Images via Getty Images Rock formations near the Farafra oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert.

Egyptian Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Rasha Azazi said the tour company involved “did not have permits and did not inform authorities”.