Foreign ministry identifies bodies of Egyptians killed in Libya

Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Monday evening that its embassy in Tripoli was following up on the identification of the bodies of Egyptians who were killed in western Libya last week following a fight with human traffickers.

The bodies are being prepared to return to Egypt.

Thirteen Egyptians were killed in the central town of Bani Walid in western Libya last Tuesday during a fight with the families of local human traffickers.

The ministry said in an official statement that the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli, whose operations are in Cairo due to the unstable security situation in the Libyan capital, was looking to determine the identity of the victims after successfully transferring the bodies from Bani Walid to Tripoli.

According to Libyan sources, the victims were murdered by the families of three human traffickers who were killed earlier in a fight with 30 Egyptian migrants.

Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman said nine bodies were identified out of 13 by Libyan forensic authorities and families of the deceased.

Four bodies have yet to be identified.

In 2015, the Egyptian government issued a warning to Egyptian citizens to avoid travelling to Libya after the Islamic State militant group killed 20 Egyptian migrant workers near Derna.

The warning was renewed later that year and is still in effect, as the security situation remains dangerous in the country.

source: Ahram Online