Egyptian soldiers killed four Sudanese refugees, beating two to death in front of horrified Israeli soldiers, an Israeli TV station reported on Thursday, screening what it said was an army surveillance video and interviews with the soldiers.
Egyptian police said that authorities arrested two Sudanese refugees on Thursday, seriously injuring one when he scuffled with police.
However, Egyptian police Captain Mohammed Badr did not report any deaths.
Channel 10 TV said that the incident happened late on Wednesday night.
In the video, the refugees are seen running toward the Israeli border and an unidentified soldier says in a distorted voice that Egyptian soldiers have opened fire, killing two.
The other two tried to climb the border fence but were tackled by Egyptian soldiers, the report said.
Israeli soldiers were sent to the scene to try to help the refugees and at one point they got into a tug-or-war with the Egyptians, each side holding onto the Sudanese refugees.
"We pulled one way they pulled another; they pointed their guns at us," one of the soldiers said.
He said the Israelis let go because they were afraid that the Egyptians would fire at them.
The Israeli soldiers said they watched helplessly as the Egyptians passed the two refugees from one to the other, beating them.
"We saw them gang up on them and beat them on the ground until they stopped moving," one of the men identified as a soldier said.
"They killed two men with their own hands and sticks and rocks," he said. "We heard them crying and screeching in pain until they died."
The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident.
There was no confirmation from Egypt of any refugees being killed.
Hundreds of Sudanese refugees, many from the war-torn Darfur region, have crossed the desert border from Egypt into Israel.
Last month, Egyptian border guards shot and killed a Sudanese woman and wounded four others. She was the first Sudanese refugee to be killed.
Meanwhile, a security source said yesterday that Egyptian police had tortured a man to death as they were trying to track down his brother.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police detained Nasr Ahmed Abdallah without charges and beat him severely in the Nile Delta village of Tilbanah on Wednesday. He died of his wounds in a hospital.
The official said police held the 35-year-old carpenter in an attempt to force the surrender of his brother, wanted on unspecified charges.
International and local human rights groups say torture is systematic in Egypt. Many victims have reported receiving electric shocks and severe beatings, but the government says it opposes torture and prosecutes anyone found practicing it.
"The problem is that the Interior Ministry until now does not want to admit that torture is a standard method," said Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.
The independent al-Masry al-Yom said villagers protested after Abdallah's death and hurled stones at the police station. The al-Wafd opposition newspaper published a picture of what it said was his bloodied body.
Egypt's public prosecutor this week ordered an investigation after a man said police set fire to him to extract a confession. A police officer is on trial after being caught on video last year apparently sodomizing a bus driver with a stick.
Amnesty International has said the human rights situation is worsening because constitutional amendments passed by a public vote in March have weakened legal safeguards against torture. The amendments grant sweeping arrest and surveillance powers.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS