ISMAILIA (Egypt) - Egyptian police shot and killed a Sudanese migrant seeking to cross the border into Israel on Saturday, security sources said.
The 23 year-old migrant was shot in the chest after he ignored orders to stop and fled towards Israel from the central Sinai peninsula, the sources added. His body was taken to el-Arish hospital.
The border is known to be a major transit route for African migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel. It is also used by smugglers to ferry narcotics into Israel and a range of goods into the besieged Gaza Strip.
The security sources also said Israel had arrested three Egyptians carrying drugs into Israel on Friday night. Earlier this month Israel handed over to Egypt the corpse of a 16 year-old boy shot dead while crossing into Israel with a group of smugglers who escaped back into Egypt.
Egyptian police have killed at least 20 migrants along its border with Israel so far this year, up from 19 during all of 2009
