Eurasia Press & News
The number of Egyptians returning home from Libya has so far reached 14,806 since 16 February, Brigadier General Fawzi Nayel, an official at Salloum Port said on Monday.
Nayel added that the numbers are surveyed every 24 hours, with Egypt receiving 3,018 on Sunday.
The border has witnessed increasing number of Egyptians coming from Libya following the release of a video by “Islamic State” affiliates in Libya. The video showed the beheading of 20 Egyptian Copts on 15 February, in an act that caused worldwide outrage and condemnation.
The attack was followed by Egyptian airstrikes in coordination with the internationally recognised Libyan government led by Abdallah Al-Thinni on IS targets in the city of Derna.
In response to the airstrikes, “Islamic State” affiliates claimed two retaliatory operations by car bombs conducted in Al-Qubbah in eastern Libya Friday, targeting Al-Qubbah security directorate and a gas station. The group claimed in a statement to have killed “tens”.
The deceased are reported to have exceeded 40, out of whom six were Egyptians.
The opposing government in Libya condemned the Egyptian airstrikes, and accused Egypt of killing civilians during the attack on Derna.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi denied such reports in a televised interview addressing the nation Sunday. During the broadcast, Al-Sisi stressed that the Egyptian army is not the “aggressor” or “invaders”, but it “protects our country and people”.
