Members of the Egyptian Labour Corps (ELC) mutinied at their camps in France in 1917. The unit had been formed in the British protectorate of Egypt to provide non-combat labour to assist British forces in the First World War. Originally deployed to the Middle East and Dardanelles theatre, the unit was deployed to France from early 1917. Recruitment was ostensibly voluntary but became a form of conscription, with men being nominated by police and village leaders. ELC members remained civilians but were subject to military discipline and led by European officers. The contract of service was for three or six months, depending on the origin of the labourer, and counted from arrival at the place of work.
The first mutiny arose at Boulogne on 5 September the day after a German air raid struck the camp. Some 1,300 men of the 73rd and 78th Labour Companies refused to work, claiming their contracts had expired (as they counted the start as the date they left their homes). British troops were ordered to the camp and, upon their arrival on 6 September, ELC members attempted to break out and were fired upon, leaving 23 dead and ending the mutiny. A further mutiny arose on similar grounds in the 74th Labour Company at Calais on 10 September. Again British troops were called in and opened fire, killing at least 4 labourers. Another mutiny broke out in the Marseille camp of the 71st Labour Company on 15 September, with 500 labourers escaping camp. A party of 150 returned armed with sticks and led by labourer Mahmoud Mahomed Ahmed. Ahmed assaulted a British officer before being arrested. Further mutinies in the 74th, 75th and 76th Labour Companies on 25 October resulted in repatriation of the mutineers by the end of the year.
The British response to the mutinies was intentionally harsh because of the effects they had on supplies reaching the front lines of the Battle of Passchendaele, to try to dissuade other potential mutineers, and because of the risk of break-outs from nearby prisoner-of-war camps. In addition to the shootings, Ahmed was executed for mutiny and at least 35 labourers sentenced to imprisonment or hard labour. After the October mutiny the response softened and disaffected labourers were moved to rest camps. The "voluntary" enlistment system was abolished and replaced by a corvée system that helped reduce complaints of unfair selection of recruits.