Katherine Magdy, an 18-year-old woman orphaned in Libya after her parents were killed there Tuesday, is missing, and Egyptian authorities say the Libyan rump state government in Tobruk has been unable to account for her whereabouts, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty Wednesday.
He added in a phone call to Dream 2 TV that the remains of her mother Sahar Talaat and her father Magdy Sobhy were transferred to Misrata in order to be returned to Egypt. Al-Shorouq reported unidentified assailants killed her parents and kidnapped Magdy, and her relatives in Egypt heard of the tragedy from Sobhy’s brother, who is still in Libya.
Libyan authorities in Sirte announced Tuesday Sobhy and his wife were killed inside their home. It was added that the family—which is Christian—moved to Libya 14 years ago and used to visit Egypt regularly, but the visits ended after the security situation in Libya began to deteriorate in 2011.
In their statements to Al-Shorouq, the family of the victims said the government has not communicated with them since the incident took place.
But Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry did release a statement saying they are following all the news published regarding the family in Libya, and demanded authorities there start an investigation immediately.
The statement published on the Foreign Ministry’s Facebook page also warned Egyptians in Libya not to get involved or to be around clashes, and recommended they not travel.
The United Nations in Libya also released a statement Thursday condemning the killings and kidnapping of the Egyptians. The statement added that the family may have been targeted because they were Christians.a
