Mexican embassy protests deadly attack in Egypt

Embassy cancels Independence Day celebrations after deaths

Mexico's embassy in Cairo has cancelled its Independence Day celebration scheduled for 15 September, two days after an attack in which an unconfirmed number of Mexican tourists were killed by security forces in Egypt's Western Desert.

Egypt has issued an apology after its anti-terror forces killed 12 people, including several Mexican tourists and their Egyptian guides, seemingly in a case of mistaken identity. At least ten other people were reportedly injured in the attack.

Tour organisers say the group had permission to travel to the remote Wahat desert region however Egypt's interior ministry insists they entered a “no-go zone.”

Mexico's minister of foreign affairs Claudia Ruiz Massieu has flown to Cairo to demand a “swift, exhaustive and deep investigation” into the incident.

Details of the incident, and the precise number of Mexican casualties, remain unclear but Ruiz Massieu said survivors described “an aerial attack with bombs launched by a plane and helicopters”.

Mexicans traditionally celebrate their independence with a ceremony on the evening of 15 September and the morning of 16 September.