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Photo: Reuters
Egypt: 4 African infiltrators killed near Israeli border
Cairo's security forces say border patrol killed four Sudanese as they tried to illegally cross border to Israel; refused to heed officer's orders to stop
Four African migrants, possibly Sudanese, were killed Saturday by the Egyptian border police as they tried to illegally cross the border into Israel, an Egyptian security services official said.
They were reportedly part of a group trying to cross the Egyptian-Israeli border in the company of smugglers.
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The troops reported using deadly force only after the Sudanese refused to heed their call to stop.
Cairo has drawn criticism from international organizations for the proliferation of deadly shootings against migrants. Egypt argues in return highly sensitive nature of this region.
According to the Interior Ministry's Immigration Authority, 623 illegal immigrants infiltrated the border in the first half of June.
The ministry said it is a record number. Over 3,000 people, mostly refugees and asylum seekers, have infiltrated the border since the beginning of 2011.
Israel is currently upgrading its border fence with Egypt, it an attempt to curb the number of infiltrators.
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