Egypt cops 'kill' Eritrean woman
2008-03-18 16:17
El-Arish - Egyptian police shot dead a 30-year-old Eritrean woman on Tuesday as she tried to cross illegally into Israel, a security official said.
The woman, identified as Karima, was shot three times including a fatal head wound, the source said. Another Eritrean woman trying to cross at the same time was arrested with her one-year-old infant.
There had been a growing stream of casualties from shooting incidents at the border as the Egyptian police crack down on illegal migrants. Human rights groups had denounced what they called an excessive use of force.
Last week, police shot and killed a Sudanese man as he tried to cross the border with Israel.
Israel announced last month it was considering reviving plans to build a fence the length of its porous 250km desert frontier with Egypt in a bid to stem the flow of people, arms and drugs.
Dozens of migrants, mainly Africans, had been arrested in recent months. Several had been killed while trying to make the crossing into Israel.
- AFP