Seven Sudanese were caught Friday trying to sneak into Israel, among them a one-year-old girl. Egyptian border police who interviewed the group said they were refugees from the Darfur area and were seeking asylum in Israel.

They had lived in Cairo for several months, but were poorly treated because of the color of their skin, they told police. In order to reach Israel, they hired underworld elements in Cairo to smuggle them across the Sinai and into Israel, at a cost of $500 a person.