El ARISH(Egypt) - Egyptian security forces arrested Wednesday two groups of African migrants as they attempted to cross the country's porous Sinai peninsula border into Israel.
The migrants told police they had each paid 1,000 dollars to a group of smugglers who promised to help them reach Israel.
Egyptian security officials said warning shots were fired into the air in the early morning after soldiers spotting six people attempting to cross the border. The group, believe to be all of Sudanese origin, heeded the warning and were arrested.
Four Ethiopians, found at a different point along the border, were also arrested.
Smugglers and migrants attempt regularly to infiltrate the border and enter Israel, often to find work. In many cases, police open fire at the people and human rights groups have slammed a growing number of fatalities.
The 250 kilometre border is guarded on the Egyptian side by a maximum of 750 lightly armed policemen, a stipulation of Cairo's 1979 Camp David peace accord with Israel.
