Egyptian guards arrest 16 African migrants trying to sneak into Israel
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Egyptian border guards on Sunday arrested 16 African migrants who were trying to cross illegally into Israel.
An Egyptian security official said the Africans, including four women, were from Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The officials said there were arrested in central Sinai about 60 miles south of the Rafah crossing at the Egypt-Gaza Strip border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to talk to the media.
The official said the migrants allegedly paid $500 to human traffickers for shelter in the Sinai desert and a ride to the Israeli border.
He added that the 16 were in police custody in the northern Sinai town of El-Arish.