Egypt also nursing a migrant headache

The problem of illegal immigrants is not unique to Kenya. In Egypt, police on Wednesday shot dead an Eritrean migrant as he tried to slip across the border into Israel in an upsurge of violence that has left seven migrants dead in September, security sources said.

While illegal immigrants entering Kenya are mainly from war-torn Somalia, Egypt is grappling with an influx of immigrants from neighbouring Eritrea. Both Somalia and Eritrea have in the past been rocked by protracted conflict, leading thousands of their citizens to seek refuge in other countries.

In Egypt, one other Eritrean migrant was wounded and was in a critical condition after police fired first in the air and then at the migrants after they ignored orders to stop and ran toward the Jewish state. Four Ethiopian migrants were also detained.

Police have stepped up efforts to control the sensitive border with the Jewish state since May, ending a six-month lull in known fatalities as authorities responded to what security sources say is an increased flow of human traffic through Egypt.

Transit route

At least 15 migrants have been killed since May. Egypt’s border with Israel is a main transit route for generally unarmed African migrants and refugees seeking work or asylum in Israel, although Egyptian police complain the smugglers who ferry the migrants to the border region sometimes fire on security forces.

Egypt, which for years tolerated tens of thousands of African migrants on its territory, is under Israeli pressure to halt the flow of migrants. Egyptian authorities also say they are concerned the flow of migrants at its Sinai border could pose a security threat in an area where Islamist militants sometimes find refuge.