CAIRO— Egypt’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the killing of 12 people in an accidental attack by security forces on a group of Mexican tourists traveling in the western desert was “regrettable,” but stopped short of apologizing.
Sameh Shoukry made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Mexican counterpart Claudia Ruiz Massieu, who also met with Egypt’s president. She called for a “comprehensive, prompt and transparent investigation” into the “tragic and unprecedented events” on Sunday.
Ruiz Massieu, who arrived in Cairo earlier Wednesday, met with survivors of the attack accompanied by their family members. She did not relay survivors’ accounts of what happened.
“I want to stress that for Mexico and for all the people of Mexico this has been a terrible incident, this has been an unprecedented incident,” she said at the press conference.
Mexico’s ambassador to Egypt had earlier said that survivors told him the tour group’s vehicles were attacked by helicopters. Eight Mexicans were killed in the attack and six were wounded. The nationalities of the other four people who were killed are not yet known.
