Amnesty Criticizes U.S. Arm Shipments to Egypt

Amnesty International found that the U.S. continually shipped arms to Egyptian security forces despite the use of violence to crack down on demonstrators. Amnesty noted that a “shipment for the Egyptian Ministry of Interior arrived from the US on 26 November carrying at least seven tons of ‘ammunition smoke’ – which includes chemical irritants and riot control agents such as tear gas.” This was one of three shipments  deliveries to Egypt by the U.S. company Combined Systems, Inc. since the brutal crackdown on the “25 January Revolution” protestors.

Amnesty stated that the shipments are not illegal, but suggested that security forces gravely misused the weapons in quelling protesters. Brian Wood of Amnesty noted that “Egypt’s security forces, including the riot police, must be reformed and trained to respect U.N. standards on use of force and firearms. Without fundamental change in the behaviour and accountability of the security forces, it is irresponsible for foreign countries to provide arms and other equipment to forces that are most likely to misuse them.” He further added that ”arms shipments to Egypt’s security forces must be stopped until there is certainty that tear gas and other munitions, weaponry or other equipment aren’t linked to bloodshed on Egyptian streets.”