Dozens of Palestinian security men affiliated to Fatah staged a mass break-out on Tuesday from the camp where they have been held in the Egyptian town of Rafah, security sources said.
Around 130 men from various Fatah security groups have been held in Egyptian police custody since they crossed the border from the Gaza Strip in June, fleeing in the aftermath of rival Hamas' seizure of the territory.
The men have been held in police camps in the towns of Arish and Rafah. Around 60 of the Fatah loyalists managed to escape from the camps at dawn on Tuesday, but Egyptian police were able to recapture 40 of them, transferring them to police stations in the coastal town of Arish, according to security sources. The sources added that police were searching for the remaining escapees.