(ASSOCIATED PRESS) – Egyptian police have arrested 109 African migrants hoping to cross illegally into Israel from Egypt, an Egyptian security official said Wednesday.
95 migrants from Eritrea and 14 from Ethiopia were caught Wednesday in the city of Aswan, 685 kilometers (425 miles) south of Cairo, after crossing the border from Sudan on foot, said the official. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
During questioning, the arrested said they wanted to go to Israel for jobs and a better life. Before sneaking into Aswan, they said they had lived briefly in refugee camps in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
Other migrants have said they pay about US$500 to human traffickers for shelter in the Egyptian desert and a ride to the Israeli border.