haaretz.com NEWS

Egyptian border guards on Tuesday shot and wounded an Eritrean man trying to sneak across the border with Israel, an Interior Ministry official said. Fifteen others were arrested.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to reporters, told the German Press Agency dpa that guards shot the man when he ignored orders to stop and warning shots fired over his head.

The man was rushed to hospital, the official said. The 15 other Eritreans were detained and referred to prosecutors.

Egypt faces continued international pressure both to tighten security on its border with Israel and to stop using lethal force to prevent migrants from illegally crossing the desert border.

Egyptian border guards routinely arrest would-be migrants trying to cross into Israel without papers, sometimes using lethal force to do so.

The United Nations has sharply criticised the use of lethal force along the border, and Israel has announced plans to erect a wall along the boundary to prevent illegal migration.

Earlier this week, Egyptian security forces detained two Israelis for crossing into Egypt illegally.

On Sunday, Egypt detained an Israeli man for swimming into Egyptian waters from the Israeli port of Eilat.

The day before, Egypt detained an Israeli dirt biker who said he had accidentally strayed across the border after being separated from fellow bikers.