Egyptian cops 'kill' Eritrean

2008-02-25 14:20

El-Arish - Egyptian police shot dead an Eritrean woman as she tried to cross the border illegally into Israel after she ignored warnings to stop, said a security source on Monday.

"The woman in her thirties was shot in the chest after she ignored police orders to stop. She died instantly," the source said.

"A 30-year-old Eritrean man was also shot in the foot as he tried to escape and is now being treated in hospital."

The two were part of a group of 10 Africans trying to cross into Israel late on Sunday after they were spotted by a routine border patrol.

Dozens of migrants arrested

On Tuesday, a 50-year-old Sudanese man was shot dead trying to cross into Israel south of the town of Rafah. The 250km Egyptian-Israeli border had become a major transit route for migrants and asylum-seekers.

Dozens of migrants, mainly Africans, had been arrested in recent months as Egyptian police tried to halt the constant stream into Israel. Several had been killed while trying to make the crossing.

The United Nations refugee agency said earlier this month that more than 1 500 Africans, mostly from Eritrea, had entered Israel illegally through Egypt since the start of the year.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered security authorities to deport to Egypt migrants who entered the country illegally and to tighten surveillance of the Israel-Egypt border.

An official in Israel's public security ministry had said that more than 4 700 people entered Israel from the Sinai over the past 14 months alone.

- AFP