CAIRO: Two Africans were killed and two more wounded, including a 15-year-old, along the Israeli border with Egypt on Sunday, security officials and refugees confirmed to Bikya Masr. Sunday's incident is the second similar incident in less than a week, highlighting the ongoing struggle facing refugees in Egypt. According to security officials, the men had been seen attempting to enter Israel illegally and were ordered to stop before police opened fire on them. Two men were killed in the ensuing violence, while two others were also shot, but not killed and taken to a local hospital where they are currently in stable condition, a refugee close to the situation told Bikya Masr. The killings on the border have highlighted the need for Egypt to change its' policies toward refugees and migrants who attempt to escape the country into Israel, rights groups continue to argue. They believe that the militarization and continued police action taken against Africans along the border is not helping the situation. Last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a detailed report that condemns the Egyptian state’s “shoot-to-kill†deterrence method. Although around 13,000 Africans have entered the Jewish state since 2006, the 33 people killed along the border since June 2007 have highlighted the ongoing struggle between rights group and Cairo as well as Israel. The Egyptian government claims the use of force along the lengthy desert border in the Sinai Peninsula is part of its counter terror strategy against smuggling, but HRW said in its 90-page report, “Sinai Perils: Risks to Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Egypt and Israel,†that the migrants killed on the 266-kilometer (130-mile) border pose no threat to the border guards that have opened fire. “The Egyptian government should send a clear message to stop shooting the defenseless, harmless and [non-threatening] people on the border,†Human Rights Watch researcher Bill Van Esveld told journalists at Cairo’s Press Syndicate during the release of the report. “Unfortunately, it does not seem that Egyptian officials here recognize the seriousness of the problem.†Israel has long called on Cairo to do more in inhibiting the movement of people across their border, but HRW was critical of the Jewish state, saying that potential asylum-seekers should not be immediately returned to Egypt where they could face deportation to nations with well-documented human rights violations. “Both Egypt and Israel have responded to this cross-border flow with policies that violate fundamental rights,†said the report. “Despite the violations of refugee rights on the Egyptian side, Israel had returned many people back to the custody of the Egyptian border police,†added Van Esveld. In Israel, many activists have started questioning the government’s policy of return, suggesting that as Jews those seeking a reprieve from genocide should be given the opportunity to remain. Many Africans in Cairo boast of friends who have succeeded in making the border gauntlet into Israel. “It is deplorable what my government is doing and I am working hard to end this lack of dignity in the way they deal with refugees. People who need help should not be killed,” said Uri, a 24-year-old Israeli activist who spoke to Bikya Masr from his home in Tel Aviv. BM
