Egyptian authorities on Saturday arrested five African immigrants near the Rafah border crossing while they were attempting to cross into Israel. A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police have arrested two Sudanese nationals and one Ethiopian immigrant while attempting to sneak into Israel from a border point in central Sinai. The same source added that police have arrested another two Sudanese infiltrators near the border town of Taba. Israel claims approximately 10,000 Africans have entered its land illegally via Egyptian borders over the past few years. International organizations, for their part, have been accusing Egypt of using excessive force on African infiltrators. Egypt, meanwhile, has said it has the right to use force as a measure to protect its national security. Egyptian authorities have since the beginning of 2010 killed 24 African infiltrators in addition to at least another 19 in 2009.
