2 Egyptian officers killed in gold-mining crackdown on southern border

Two Egyptian army officers, including a high-ranking border guard officer, were killed during a military crackdown on illegal gold mining along Egypt's southern border with Sudan, a military spokesperson said on Thursday.

The military launched the campaign to counter illegal gold mining in the Eastern Desert in June, with the first three phases complete.

The military said the fourth phase was due to begin on Saturday, adding the campaign intended to strengthen state control over Egyptian territory and protect national resources.

It was not immediately clear when the two officers were killed, and the spokesperson did not specify the timing of their deaths.

The military spokesperson said authorities had detained 151 Egyptians and 540 foreigners during the campaign.

The campaign has drawn attention after the rights monitor Emergency Lawyers said in October that at least 72 artisanal miners had been killed in an airstrike in northern Sudan, close to the Egyptian border. The group blamed the Egyptian Air Force for the strike.

Egypt's military did not refer to the reported strike or the deaths at the time. In a statement then, it said a phase of its campaign against illegal gold mining in southern Egypt was under way after it dropped warning leaflets on what it described as "criminal elements".

Artisanal gold mining has risen in northern Sudan since Sudan's civil war disrupted livelihoods. Gold has become a key revenue source during the conflict, while experts and industry participants say much of it is smuggled into Egypt through a porous and disputed border area that includes the mineral-rich Halayeb and Shalateen regions.

The Egyptian military spokesperson said there was coordination with Sudan, including recent meetings between Egyptian and Sudanese officials. He said the armed forces of both countries exchanged information on securing the Egypt-Sudan border.