UN chief concerned over reported killing of Sudanese refugees near Egyptian-Israeli border

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday voiced his deep concern about reports of the killing of five Sudanese refugees near the Egyptian-Israeli border, urging Egypt to "launch a full investigation" into the tragic events, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

In response to questions related to refugees, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing that "the secretary-general remains deeply troubled by (the) reports."

Five Sudanese refugees trying to cross Egypt into Israel were shot dead and six others wounded at the border by the Egyptian forces on Monday, according to reports.

The tragedy came more than a week after another 15 Sudanese refugees were shot dead and eight others injured by Egyptian security forces in the Sinai on the Egyptian-Israeli border, Dujarric said.

"The secretary-general urged the Egyptian authorities to launch a full investigation in order to shed light into these tragic events, ensure accountability and prevent a recurrence of these events," the spokesman said.

There are an estimated 50,000 African migrants currently in Israel, most of whom do not have official status, reports said.

A border fence equipped with sensors that alert on infiltration attempts was completed in 2012. The fence was built to stymie the stream of African migrants and, to a lesser extent, to stop the smuggling of controlled substances from Sinai into Israel, said reports. Endit