Human Rights Watch accused Egypt yesterday of mass demolition of homes in the Sinai Peninsula, some of which it said might be illegal, as the military fights an Islamist militants insurgency in the remote desert region. The New York-based rights watchdog said demolitions, which have taken place in recent years to create buffer zones on borders such as that with Gaza, had increased significantly.

They were also being used to punish suspected militants and their relatives. HRW said the authorities had demolished more than 3,000 buildings and razed farmland within a 12 km (7.5 miles) area along the Gaza border, as well as scores of buildings near al-Arish.

"The total number of buildings demolished so far in 2018 is the largest since the government ordered the eviction of residents from the Rafah buffer zone in October 2014," it said.

Egypt in February launched a highly-publicized operation against Islamic State militants who have waged years of attacks against security forces and more recently against civilians in which hundreds of people have been killed.

As part of a push against the militants, authorities announced they were razing farmland and properties for several km (miles) around the town of al-Arish in North Sinai. After militants stepped up their attacks against Egyptian forces in 2013, the military razed an extensive area along the border with Gaza.