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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sun Aug 15 2010 - 13:51:22 EDT
Eritrean death toll on Israel-Egypt border rises
(AFP) - 2 hours ago
15/08/2010
EL-ARISH, Egypt - An Eritrean woman shot in clashes with smugglers and
police on Egypt's border with Israel earlier in the week died of her
injuries on Sunday, raising the death toll to seven, a security official
said.
The woman was among a group of African migrants who were trying to sneak
into Israel from Egypt on Friday when the deadly clashes broke out.
Four Eritreans were killed on the spot by smugglers when migrants seized
their weapons in a bid to escape, while two others were shot dead by
Egyptian police barring them from illegally crossing the border.
The police detained 22 migrants on Friday and launched a manhunt for other
members of the group estimated to number 60 -- some of whom were said to be
armed -- and for the smugglers.
On Saturday, four of the migrants managed to cross into Israel, five others
were arrested and two -- an Eritrean and a Sudanese -- were wounded as
border guards opened fire, the official said.
Friday's smuggling operation turned deadly when the traffickers demanded
more money to release the migrants after a failed bid to smuggle them across
the border, migrants told police.
Twenty-nine African migrants have now been killed this year trying to cross
to Israel in search of a better life and job prospects, 24 of them by
Egypt's police, according to the security services, compared to 19 last
year.
Cairo has rejected strong criticism from human rights groups of its policy
of using potentially lethal force against migrants along its 250-kilometre
(150-mile) border with Israel.
The Sinai desert border has become a major trafficking route for African
migrants seeking jobs and for eastern European women headed for the sex
trade.
Copyright C 2010 AFP.
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