Members of the Defense and National Security Committee in the People’s Assembly said on Tuesday that the armed forces bear full responsibility for the storming of the nuclear power plant construction site in Dabaa last January.
On 16 January, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy announced that the site had been looted and vandalized. A source from the ministry estimated the initial losses at LE500 million and accused security authorities of “causing the disaster.”
Residents of Dabaa said their land had been confiscated for the project. They claimed the government did not compensate them for the land it took.
Abdullah Gahama, an MP who filed a request for information on the issue, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the incident has caused great damage.
Gahama claimed that the incident was carried out by infiltrators and had affected Egypt’s reputation abroad.
MP Adel al-Qala said the armed forces are responsible for protecting the project. “Where was the third division in charge of protecting this area? It did not take action until the third day of the attack,” he said.
MP Osama Suleiman said that the army, not the police, was responsible for protecting the Dabaa site, as it has been responsible for maintaining order in Egypt since the beginning of the 25 January revolution. He added that the army had previously defended the Anshas nuclear reactor.
“What happened in Dabaa is no different from what happened in Port Said. I demand a fact-finding committee be formed to find out who is responsible for this incident,” Suleiman said.
General Sayed al-Brins, a representative of the Defense Ministry, responded by saying that protecting the site was the responsibility of the police, not the armed forces.
“Facing 3,000 armed citizens necessitates shooting. We cannot shoot our own people. It is a sensitive issue,” Brins said.
