CAIRO // Egyptian police have shot dead an African migrant trying to cross illegally into Israel on Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly incidents on the porous desert border, a security official said.
A patrol spotted the man near the border in the Sinai, and he was shot twice in the stomach after failing to respond to orders to stop, the official said.
More than 30 migrants have been killed on the Egyptian border with Israel, mostly by Egyptian police.
The Sinai desert border has become a major trafficking route for African migrants seeking jobs. Thousands of Eritreans each year flee the country, with many heading for Israel.
In August, seven people were killed in clashes with smugglers and police near the border with Israel after African migrants being held by traffickers seized the weapons of their captors in a bid to escape.
Israel began work in November on a 250-kilometre fence along the border aimed at stopping the influx of migrants.
In October, the New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Egypt to stop shooting migrants, saying its security forces had killed at least 85 people trying to enter Israel illegally since 2007.