CAIRO - Egypt's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that reports about hundreds of Eritrean immigrants allegedly being held hostage by Bedouin smugglers on the border with Israel are 'unconfirmed.' 'Despite intensified efforts by security forces, they could not confirm that these Eritreans were captured or killed,' said Mohamed Abdel-Hakam, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs, Egyptians abroad, migration and refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said a group of some 250 Eritreans have been held hostage for about a month by traffickers in the Sinai Peninsula. The group was attempting to illegally cross into Israel through that country's porous border with Egypt. Bedouin smugglers allegedly reneged on their deal to help the group cross over and demanded up to 8,000 dollars from each migrant's family to secure their release. The UNHCR said that the details surrounding the case have so far all been from second hand sources and that the UNHCR had very limited information as of yet. On Wednesday, Egypt announced that 83 Africans, including 20 Eritreans, illegally attempting to cross into Israel had been arrested.
