Sunday, February 21, 2010

Egyptian Police Kill 2 African Migrants Near Israeli Border

AFP
Egypt police kill two African migrants near Israel border
Sunday February 21, 2010

EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egyptian police shot dead two African migrants as they attempted to enter Israel illegally on Sunday, a security official told AFP.

Both men, whose nationalities are not known because they were not carrying identity papers, died on the spot after being shot three times each, the official said.

He said police opened fire after the men refused orders to stop.

In a separate incident on Saturday, an Eritrean man and two Ethiopians were wounded after police shot them also for trying to cross the border into Israel.

The three were taken to El-Arish hospital in north Sinai, where two are said to be in critical condition, the official said.

Egyptian border guards often shoot at African migrants who pay smugglers for passage into Israel to escape poverty and look for work.

Israel has insisted that Egypt clamp down on the traffic, and has approved the construction of barriers along the two countries' 250-kilometre (155-mile) border.

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