CAIRO: Egyptian police shot dead a sub-Saharan migrant as he tried to slip into Israel illegally overnight, a security official said on Tuesday.
Police shot him dead after he ignored orders to stop, the official said. The man s nationality was not identified.
Police in Egypt regularly shoot African migrants on the country s porous border with Israel, and have killed 17 this year.
In September, guards shot dead four sub-Saharan migrants near the 250-kilometer frontier, drawing condemnation from international human rights groups.
A week later, police shot dead another two migrants.
Egypt has defended its policy, saying that the migrants, none of whom was armed, were given warnings to stop before they were shot. Guards killed at least 28 would-be migrants last year.
The migrants say they try to leave Egypt because of poverty and racism, and to seek work and a better life in Israel.
The border has become a major transit route for migrants, asylum-seekers and drug smugglers, and Israel has asked Egypt to clamp down on the traffic. -AFP
