Last update - 00:00 27/12/2007
Egypt arrests five Sudanese refugees trying to cross into Israel
By The Associated Press
Five Sudanese refugees from the war-torn western Darfur region were arrested early Thursday trying to cross illegally from Egypt into Israel, an Egyptian security official said.
"Border guards arrested the five, including one 25-year-old refugee who was seriously injured when he tried to leap the barbed wire border fence," said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The refugees told police that they paid $300 each for smugglers in Cairo to help them cross to Israel at the Matala village, 7 kilometers south of Rafah crossing point, the official said.
They also said that they were seeking political asylum in Israel and jobs, he added.
Israel estimates that 2,800 people, mostly from Africa, have entered the country illegally through its border with Egypt in recent years searching for jobs.
The number shot up over the summer, apparently as word spread of job opportunities in Israel and a more lenient policy toward refugees. As many as 50 people arrived each day in June, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The number declined, however, after Egypt tightened border controls resulting in a spike of arrests and the occasional shooting of those trying to cross.
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