EL-ARISH, Egypt, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Egyptian border police shot dead two African migrants trying to slip into Israel, security sources said, pushing the number of African migrants killed this week at the sensitive border to four.
A 26-year-old Eritrean was shot dead on Thursday, while in a separate incident late on Wednesday a 27-year-old migrant of unknown nationality was killed, the sources said.
Another migrant, a 20-year-old from Eritrea, was critically injured by police during Wednesday's attempt to reach Israel.
Security sources and analysts say increased violence at the border is partly due to the increasing popularity of the route, seen as safer than risking passage by sea from Libya to Europe.
At least 19 migrants, mostly unarmed Africans seeking work or asylum in Israel, were killed by Egyptian border guards last year, while five have died this year.
Police detained another five Eritreans and three Ethiopians who tried to slip into Israel on Wednesday, the sources added.
Monthly migrant arrests by Egypt at the border surged as 2009 progressed, from just six in January to 160 in July.
Egypt has come under pressure from Israel to stem the flow, while Egypt also fears the unfettered movement of migrants in the politically sensitive Sinai border region where Islamist militants sometimes take refuge. (Reporting by Rasha Kamal in El-Arish and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia; writing by Marwa Awad and Alastair Sharp)
State of Eritrea ሃገረ ኤርትራ Hagere Ertra دولة إرتريا
Dawlat Iritrīya
Anthem: Ertra, Ertra, Ertra Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea
Capital (and largest city) Asmara
15°20′N 38°55′E / 15.333°N 38.917°E / 15.333; 38.917
Official language(s) Tigrinya, Arabic, English Other languages Tigre, Saho, Bilen, Afar, Kunama, Nara, Hedareb,.
Ethnic groups 60% Tigrinya, 30% Tigre, 4% Afar, 3% Saho, 3% Kunama
Demonym Eritrean Government Provisional government
- President Isaias Afewerki
Independence
- From Italy November 1941
- From United Kingdom under UN Mandate 1951
- from Ethiopia de facto 24 May 1991
- From Ethiopia de jure 24 May 1993
Area
- Total 117,600 km2 (100th)
45,405 sq mi - Water (%) 0.14%
Population
- 2009 estimate 5,224,000[4] (109th)
- 2008 census 5,291,370
- Density 43.1/km2 (165th)
111.7/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate
- Total $3.625 billion[5]
- Per capita $681[5]
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
- Total $2.117 billion[5]
- Per capita $397[5]
HDI (2007) steady 0.472 (low) (165th)
Currency Nakfa (ERN)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
ISO 3166 code ER
Internet TLD .er
Calling code 291
1 ,. National TV: Eritrea Television (ERI-TV)
Eritrea (play /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;[6] Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million...
Source: Wikipedia
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