Egypt cops 'kill' illegal migrant
2008-03-10 12:56
El-Arish - Egyptian police shot dead a Sudanese and seriously wounded an Eritrean on Monday after they opened fire on African migrants trying to cross illegally into Israel, said a security official.
Police spotted Adam Mohammed Othman, 23, near the border south of the town of Rafah and shot him dead after he failed to heed their orders to stop, said the official.
Police arrested seven Eritreans and an Ethiopian who had been poised to make the illegal crossing with him. The Eritrean sustained a bullet wound in the neck in a separate shooting at the border, added the official.
There had been a growing stream of casualties from shooting incidents at the border as the Egyptian police had cracked down on illegal migrants.
Israel announced last month that it was considering reviving plans to build a fence the length of the porous 250km desert frontier in a bid to stem the flow of people, arms and drugs.
On Saturday, police shot and wounded another Sudanese - Zakaria Mussa, 24 - as he attempted the crossing with two compatriots, who were both arrested.
Dozens of migrants, mainly Africans, had been arrested in recent months. Several had been killed while trying to make the crossing into Israel.
- AFP