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Egypt’s border guards stopped 12,000 from illegally migrating in 2016: Army
Ahram Online , Thursday 12 Jan 2017
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/254924/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-border-guards-stopped-,-from-illegally-migr.aspx
Egyptian border guard forces prevented more than 12,000 people of
various nationalities from illegally entering or leaving the country in
2016, the military said on Wednesday.
A growing number of migrants have in recent years tried to cross to Italy in
perilous sea journeys from the African coasts of Libya and Egypt. Crossings
are often organised by migrant traffickers in rickety boats that often
capsize repeatedly, leading to many deaths.
The army said in a statement listing its achievements last year that “12,192
people of various nationalities have been arrested [in] a total of 434 cases
of illegal migration,”
In September, a boat carrying about 450 people capsized in the Mediterranean
Sea off Egypt’s north coast. Around 202 bodies were recovered from the water
and 169 people rescued.
In November, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi approved a new law
aimed at curbing illegal immigration and cracking down on human smuggling.
In Wednesday’s statement, the army said security forces have destroyed 67
underground tunnels–presumably in Sinai, where it has launched a campaign
to eliminate smuggling tunnels between the peninsula and the Palestinian
Gaza Strip.