Rafah, Egypt: An Egyptian security official says border guards have shot dead an African migrant near the border with Israel.
The official said the 25-year-old Eritrean refused to surrender when police fired warning shots in the air and continued running toward the Israeli border near Rafah in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. In a separate incident, the official says authorities arrested 26 migrants from Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia before they reached the border. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.
Hundreds of Africans seeking political asylum and jobs try to illegally enter Israel every year, in long perilous desert trips, often with the help of Bedouin traffickers. Egyptian guards trying to stem the flow have killed dozens of migrants in recent years.
