CAIRO: A total of 78 migrants from different African nations were arrested taking a boat to Italy from Kafr el-Sheikh illegally, while the attempt of 245 people to access Libya illegally was foiled in the Western Desert Tuesday, Youm7 reported.
The African migrants included 72 Somalis, three Congolese, one Gambian and two Sudanese. Last week, 14 migrants drowned off Egyptian shores, including six Egyptians, six Iraqis and a Sudanese woman after their boat sank off Kafr el-Sheikh.
The owner of the boat and twenty-five migrants were arrested after being rescued.
Meanwhile in Sallum on the borders with Libya, 240 Egyptians and five Sudanese were arrested for being a military zone without a permit as they were heading to Libya through desert routes.
In an Oct. 13 statement, military spokesperson Mohamed Samir reported that 2,215 people were arrested in illegal immigration attempts in September, both in cities on the Mediterranean and at the Egyptian-Libya borders.