Libya frees, deports 1,300 kidnapped Egyptians

Egyptian Karim Farrag displays a picture of his brother Mohamed, one of 17 Egyptians that went missing in Libya on September 23, 2020 [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images]

A total of 1,300 Egyptians, who were kidnapped in Libya’s eastern city of Bi’r Al-Ashhab, were freed and immediately deported, the Ministry of Interior announced yesterday.

In an official statement, the ministry said that their freedom was achieved following an operation carried out by “various units of the security services.” The statement did not provide details about when they were kidnapped or how long they had been detained.

“The Libyan security services will continue to enforce the law from Tobruk to the Libyan-Egyptian border, and the Musaid border crossing,” the ministry stressed.

It went on to call on officials and tribal leaders “to lift the veil on criminals and outlaws and bring them to justice.”

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