CAIRO: A total of 5,087 people have been arrested during the past month over attempted “illegal immigration” through Egypt’s borders, an anonymous military source told Youm7 Monday.
“Border guards are intensifying their efforts on different strategic routes, especially the western and southern ones, to combat any attempts of infiltration and smuggling,” the source added.
The source also said that the guards are equipped with “modern weapons and techniques” that enable them to control international borders.
On a near-daily basis, border guards have arrested hundreds of Egyptians and foreigners at the western Sallum border crossing, who were trying to reach Libyan territories through desert routes.
Officials previously announced that numbers of those who managed to escape and illegally migrate to Libya is twice as much as the number of those stopped at Sallum border.
Also, dozens have been stopped by coastal guards before sailing to European countries, especially Italy through Egypt’s Mediterranean governorates. Italian authorities have cooperated with Egyptian counterparts in deporting those who illegally reached Italy via the sea.
Around 2,000 illegal immigrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea since the beginning of this year, while 3,279 drowned in 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Most of those who try to illegally migrate are believed to be seeking to make a better living in other countries, despite security unrest witnessed in some destinations.