Two undocumented migrants were shot dead last night by Egyptian police forces while attempting to enter Israel illegally. Security sources have presumed them both to be Sudanese.
Egyptian security sources said the infiltrators were shot in North Sinai, 10km from the Rafah border crossing, according to Egyptian news website Masrawy.
Police fired into the air to warn the intruders before shooting them, the security sources added.
An initial investigation showed that the first body belonged to Abdel Rahman Basheer, 23; he was shot in his left shoulder. The second did not have any identification, but the same sources said that he was probably Sudanese as well.
The two bodies were transferred to Arish Hospital in North Sinai, and the public prosecutor and Sudanese Embassy in Cairo were both notified about the incident, so that they could carry out their own investigations.
Cairo has drawn criticism from international rights organizations concerning its large amount of deadly shootings of undocumented migrants. Egypt has argued in return that it has the right to control its own borders.
According to the Israeli Interior Ministry's Immigration Authority, over 3000 people, mostly refugees and asylum seekers, have infiltrated its border since the beginning of 2011.
Israel is currently upgrading its border fence with Egypt in an attempt to curb the number of infiltrators.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
