Eurasia Press & News
An additional group of Egyptians in the Libyan-Tunisian border area have been evacuated, Egyptian Minister of Aviation Hossam Kamal said, adding that two flights transporting 500 Egyptians are slated to leave to Egypt on Monday.
This decision came as an exception in light of an end to the emergency airlifts that had previously been afforded to transfer Egyptians from Libya, an official source from the foreign ministry said.
The Egyptian consulate’s staff, which was temporarily located and assigned to work in the border area, withdrew after “successfully” evacuating the Egyptians.
The Egyptian foreign ministry has previously urged Egyptian citizens residing in Libya to avoid being in places close to military action.
Libya expert at the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, Kamel Abdallah, said that this was not exceptional to Egypt and that several countries have called for the return of their citizens from Libya due to the intense fighting. He added that Libya has entered a “point of no return”.
Egyptians in the Libyan-Tunisian border areas have been evacuated in groups, by first crossing into Tunisia through the Ras Jdeir crossing and going to the Gabès or Djerba airports in Tunisia. Egypt’s national airline, EgyptAir has been returning them back to Egypt through free, daily flights.
