An Egyptian member of parliament on Saturday said he would sue Britain and France for USD 15 billion in compensation for their invasion of the Suez Canal zone in 1956. Al-Badri Ferghalli, from Port Said on the northern tip of the canal, told AFP he has began forming a committee to "collect documents and witness accounts" on the invasion to back the lawsuit. "The aggression caused thousands of deaths among the city residents and destroyed whole neighbourhoods," he said. He said he would ask the Egyptian parliament and government to back the lawsuit, but did not specify the court he would appeal to.
| Prob'ly someplace in Belgium... |
British-French military operations to control Port Said and the rest of the canal began on October 31, 1956, two days after Israeli forces crossed into the Sinai peninsula. International condemnation and strong US pressure forced the three countries to end operations and withdraw. The invasion came after Egyptian President Gamal Abel Nasser nationalised the canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to finance the construction of the Aswan High Dam. |