3 arrested trying to illegally cross into Israel

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Three Africans were arrested while trying to illegally cross from the southern Egyptian border city of Rafah into Israel to seek asylum, a police officer in the northern Sinai peninsula said on Friday. Two Sudanese and one Malian were caught Thursday night about 10 kilometers south of Rafah, by the barbed wire on the Egypt-Israeli border, Capt. Mohammed Badr from northern Sinai police said. The three sustained cuts from the barbed wire and bruises as they stumbled while the Egyptian guards chased after them. They were taken to the el-Arish hospital nearby for treatment, Badr said. A number of Bedouins, who allegedly received US$3000 from the Africans to help them, fled the scene in a minivan, Badr added. The two Sudanese told the police they were seeking asylum and looking for jobs in Israel, Badr said. The Africans will likely be deported to their home countries soon.