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Sudanese refugees riding a bus leaving from Jerusalem last month, after having entered Israel illegally from Egypt. (AP)
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Last update - 03:12 11/08/2007
Egypt warns it won't take back refugees who cross into Israel
By The Associated Press

Egypt warned Israel on Friday that it is not obligated to take back African refugees sneaking into Israel and defended its use of force to stop the illegal border crossings.

The warning came as Capt. Mohammed Badr of the northern Sinai police announced Friday the arrest of 11 Sudanese near the border, including four couples in their late twenties, a pregnant woman, and two children.

The refugees told police during interrogation that they paid several hundred dollars per person to Egyptian Bedouins to smuggle them into Israel, Badr said. He said the refugees were from northern Sudan and would be deported back to their country of origin.

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Swamped with rising numbers of African refugees that it does not know what to do with, Israel asked Egypt in July to increase its surveillance of the border and take back some of the thousands of people that have slipped across the frontier.

Israeli media recently stepped up criticism of Egyptian border police, describing an incident in which the Egyptians allegedly shot and beat several Sudanese refugees in front of horrified Israeli soldiers.

Egypt has not commented on the report.

"If those crossing refuse to heed the orders of authorities to stop, then authorities are forced to deal with them in such a manner to ensure respect for the law," a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry said, adding that local and international law allow use of force to stop illegal border trafficking.

The statement also warned that Egypt was under no obligation to help Israel deal with its refugee influx by accepting back any of the Africans or other nationalities who made it into Israel.

Egypt has informed Israel - officially - that it is not obligated to receive any non-Egyptian citizen who illegally crosses the border into Israel, the statement said.

The statement appeared to contradict an announcement by the Israeli government following a July 1 meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, which said that an agreement had been reached to hand back illegal migrants to the Egyptians.

According to Israel, Egypt also agreed to step up efforts to interdict the migrants. In the last six weeks one Sudanese women has been shot dead at the border and several were wounded, while arrests of Africans have become an almost daily occurrence.

Israel estimates that some 2,800 people, including 1,160 Sudanese, have crossed illegally from Egypt through the porous Sinai desert border in recent years. Many of the Sudanese come from the war-wracked western Darfur region, seeking asylum and a better life in Israel.

The number shot up in the past two months, apparently as word spread of job opportunities in Israel. As many as 50 people arrived daily in June, according to the UN refugee agency.
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  1.   Why? 14:55  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 10/08/07
  2.   Why? 14:55  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 10/08/07
  3.   Refugees have hundreds of dollars? 16:54  |  Victoria Khodak 10/08/07
  4.   Open the Border - welcome them with open arms 17:55  |  maria 10/08/07
  5.   word spread of job opportunities in Israel 18:22  |  Dan Stern 10/08/07
  6.   To #1 Maria 18:54  |  betteridea 10/08/07
  7.   Maria, your TBs are getting tiresome 19:04  |  Robert 10/08/07
  8.   Bad news to all the world HYPOCRITES 19:04  |  Victor_The_Egyptian 10/08/07
  9.   to the Bedouin Victor the Egyptian 19:48  |  Tamir Palestine 10/08/07
  10.   I never been to Egypt and I will never go there 19:52  |  Tamir Palestine 10/08/07
  11.   Rafah border should be closed forever 19:56  |  Tamir Palestine 10/08/07
  12.   refugees 19:57  |  LM 10/08/07
  13.   Release the Tape 2nd Attempt 19:59  |  Chick 10/08/07
  14.   Why the tape won`t be aired 20:15  |  GZLives 10/08/07
  15.   Tamir, Egypt is a little too close to home for you 20:58  |  Jake 10/08/07
  16.   LM, come again? double standard? 21:03  |  Jake 10/08/07
  17.   Maria, Africans and Israel 21:30  |  Ron Sandler 10/08/07
  18.   tamir stop acting like a child and accept the FACTS 21:52  |  Victor_The_Egyptian 10/08/07
  19.   Some more Facts to tamira the pal 22:26  |  Victor_The_Egyptian 10/08/07
  20.   Refugees 22:45  |  Nemesis 10/08/07
  21.   #1 Margie in T.A. 23:16  |  * BEN JABO 10/08/07
  22.   #4 Maria - don`t be so generous with what 23:18  |  * BEN JABO 10/08/07
  23.   #9 Tamir 23:21  |  * BEN JABO 10/08/07
  24.   #12 LM 23:24  |  * BEN JABO 10/08/07
  25.   #13 Chick 23:27  |  * BEN JABO 10/08/07
  26.   #18 Nemesis 23:32  |  * BEN JABO 10/08/07
  27.   shame on capitalism !! 23:45  |  mehmet 10/08/07
  28.   Ben Jabo 01:38  |  Tamir Palestine 11/08/07
  29.   to BEN JABO 01:39  |  Chick 11/08/07
  30.   #29 Chick 03:25  |  * BEN JABO 11/08/07
  31.   Send them t o Gaza, Lebanon and Syria 04:20  |  bernard ross 11/08/07
  32.   Egypt just embarrassed itself showing its true colors 07:42  |  Evan 11/08/07
  33.   On the Border of Ethiopia and Somalia, drop them off. 09:37  |  Efox 11/08/07
  34.   Fishy? 09:52  |  Palestinian Brit 11/08/07
  35.   Real Egyptians - not like Victor at all! 09:58  |  Palestinian Brit 11/08/07
  36.   Global Safe Haven 13:03  |  SM 11/08/07
  37.   Sudanese refugees - Welcome to Canada 15:53  |  Reader 11/08/07
  38.   Alaska - Global Safe Haven 17:06  |  Reader 11/08/07
  39.   jake #16 17:28  |  LM 11/08/07
  40.   Pal Brit 17:30  |  Hannah 11/08/07
  41.   to ben jabo #16 17:40  |  lm 11/08/07
  42.   Treat them humanely, or treat them like Lebanese treat Palestinia 17:44  |  Tom 11/08/07
  43.   No pal Brit,we were there before moslems invasion of Egypt 18:09  |  Victor_The_Egyptian 11/08/07
  44.   Cynical threat 19:58  |  KUTW 11/08/07
  45.   FALSE HANNAH ALERT! #40 20:09  |  Hannah 11/08/07
  46.   to Victor the Egyptian 00:07  |  Anubhav 12/08/07
  47.   to LM on refugees 00:09  |  Anubhav 12/08/07
  48.   Victor the Copt? 00:12  |  Palestinian Brit 12/08/07
  49.   one more time ,you did not denied my facts 01:20  |  Victor_The_Egyptian 12/08/07
  50.   Anubhav you are rigth ,Plus 03:11  |  Victor_The_Egyptian 12/08/07
  51.   #34 Palestinian Brit 03:49  |  * BEN JABO 12/08/07
  52.   #35 Palestinian Brit 03:52  |  * BEN JABO 12/08/07
  53.   #41 lm 04:03  |  * BEN JABO 12/08/07
  54.   #53-2 lm - since you seem concerned 18:45  |  * BEN JABO 12/08/07
  55.   #53 ben jabo 20:01  |  lm 12/08/07
  56.   #55 lm part 1 of 2 23:09  |  * BEN JABO 12/08/07
  57.   #55-2 lm part 2 of 2 23:18  |  * BEN JABO 12/08/07
  58.   #42 Tom 00:38  |  * BEN JABO 13/08/07
  59.   #55 ben jabo 18:47  |  lm 13/08/07
  60.   #59 lm - let me be the first to let you know 20:33  |  * BEN JABO 13/08/07
  61.   london 20:53  |  The Frog 13/08/07
  62.   ben jabo 17:27  |  LM 14/08/07
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