Egypt arrests 10 Sudanese refugees

Egypt, August 11: Egypt has 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 quoted the Associated Press.

The warning came as Capt. Mohammed Badr of the northern Sinai police announced 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.

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.  Bhutan News Service