May 10, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - A Sudanese official Wednesday said an Egyptian military patrol has fired at a group of miners at Ibrahim Hussein mine near Wadi al-Aalagi inside the Sudanese territory pointing that one of the miners was injured during the shooting.
The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC), a website closely linked to the Sudanese security services, quoted an unnamed official as saying the patrol attacked the miners during their leisure time at noon and tracked them down by an Egyptian Land Cruiser vehicle.
He pointed that a Sudanese miner by the name of Salim Sighayroon was injured in his hand during the attack, saying the Egyptian patrol took him to the command of the 115 border guards battalion.
According to the SMC, the injured miner has been interrogated by an Egyptian officer inside the Egyptian territory before he was later released, saying Sighayroon was treated after he crossed the border and “a fragment was pulled out of his right hand”.
The SMC further said that five Land Cruiser military vehicles belonging to the Egyptian border guards came to Ibrahim Hussein mine several days prior to the incident and claimed the mine is owned by the Egyptian government, pointing they threatened to arrest the miners.
In December 2016, an Egyptian force attacked a traditional mining site owned a by a Sudanese miner in Al-Alagi valley, in Tharyira area of the Red Sea State, and detained 45 Sudanese miners and seized their drilling machine. Also, in August 2015, Egyptian authorities released 37 miners after being held for 5 five months on charges of cross-border infiltration.
Tensions between Khartoum and Cairo have escalated following the former’s decision to restrict imports of Egyptian farming products which was reciprocated by Cairo’s decision to raise residency fees for Sudanese living in Egypt.
Also, Sudan indicated that it would take some measures to end the Egyptian presence in the disputed area of Halayeb triangle after some Egyptian media outlets launched a campaign ridiculing Sudan’s cultural monuments.
On 25 April, the Egyptian authorities denied entry and deported journalist Iman Kamal al-Din from Al-Sudani newspaper just 24 hours after a similar move against journalist Al-Tahir Satti of Al-Intibaha daily.
