Egyptian border forces have arrested 12 Africans attempting to cross from Egypt to Israel in another show of force to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the Jewish state.

The 12, made up of five Sudanese, four Eritreans and three Nigerians, were arrested in separate incidents, security forces said here, adding that a seven-year-old child was among those arrested.

Israel has asked Egypt to do more to end the illegal crossing of immigrants into Israel from Egypt and Cairo has said it is doing as much as it can and has deployed more troops to the border in an attempt to increase security.

This is the most recent incident along the 160-mile desert border between Israel and Egypt that has become the transit point for many African refugees who seek a better life in the Jewish state.

Egyptian police have killed dozens of Africans in recent months in response to Israel’s claims that Cairo was not doing enough to stem the flow.

On 25 February, an Eritrean woman was shot dead by Egyptian police when she failed to stop after being warned by security forces.

"It is wrong that they kill people trying to have a better life," Tawer Ali, a Sudanese refugee community leader in Cairo, told panapres.

"If they want things to change and if the government wants refugees to stop trying to go to Israel, then the Egyptian government needs to do better with the ref u gees here in Egypt," Ali said.

According to the UN refugee agency here, some 1,500 Africans have entered Israel illegally via Egypt since January.

Panapress