CAIRO: Border police shot dead an 18-year-old man at the Salloum crossing near Egypt's border with Libya, on Thursday. Some residents said that Fathi Abdel Basset, the victim, was killed at customs, while other claim that he was shot while driving a vehicle transporting cigarettes from Libya, after he bypassed a customs check. It should be mentioned that this incident is the second one in only a few days, as it follows the killing of two people during clashes with military forces, on Tuesday. Moreover, protesters burned down a Salloum military intelligence headquarter on Tuesday, in response to the deaths. Local residents were protesting a toll increase from LE450 to LE600 for trucks on the international road between Egypt and Libya. Afterwards, the Army intervened to open the road, which led to the clashes that killed Anwar Abdel Maksoud, 14, and Abdel Moula Mahmoud Beshry, 23. The deaths encouraged the protesters to block the road and to vow not to open it until Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi intervenes. The highway was reopened on Wednesday after tribal elders convinced residents to stop their demonstration.
