Egypt police kill African migrant on Israel border

Governance - Abuse of power

Sunday, 28 February 2010 12:15

Written by {ga=codewit_correspondent}

0 COMMENTS

ISMAILIA, Egypt (Codewit) - Egyptian police shot and killed an African migrant as he tried to cross the border into Israel overnight, a security source said on Sunday.

The man was shot in the stomach and leg on Saturday night by guards stationed on the border. He had refused orders to stop while attempting to cross barbed wire marking the sensitive frontier, the source said.

The dead man was not carrying identification but appeared to be African, the source added.

Egyptian police have killed nine migrants this year, while at least 19 were killed last year.

The Sinai border is a major transit route for African migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel. Egypt has come under pressure from Israel to staunch the flow, while rights groups complain about the methods of the border police.

Amnesty International called on Egypt earlier this month to check its border guards' use of excessive force against unarmed migrants.

Security forces say they only fire at migrants after repeated orders to stop are disregarded and that smugglers who ferry migrants to the border sometimes fire on security forces.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites