At least six Egyptian citizens have been reportedly abducted by armed groups in Libya, Youm7 reported Tuesday citing relatives of the abductees.
Residents of Ezbet Rashed village in Egypt’s Delta governorate of Kafr al-Sheikh are seeking the help of officials at concerned institutions to free their relatives who were kidnapped from their houses in Libya’s eastern city of Bayda Friday night, according to Youm7.
A family member of one of the abductees told Youm7 that he called his relative in Libya and was informed that militants in military uniforms kidnapped him and others after raiding their houses.
The abduction and murder of Egyptian expatriates in Libya became more frequent following the rich-oil country’s 2011 political turmoil that toppled former Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi.
Earlier this month, 13 Egyptians and three Libyans were killed in an apparent financial dispute with smuggling gangs in Libya’s town of Bani Walid.
Egyptian authorities have warned several times against traveling to Libya where a state of chaos prevails since 20 Egyptian Copts were beheaded in February 2015 on camera by the Islamic State group militants in Libya’s Sirte.
Islamists are controlling the northern parts of the country while the internationally recognized government is located in Tobruk city on Libya’s eastern Mediterranean coast.
At least 1 million Egyptians have fled Libya in the wake of the 2011 turmoil; the country was one of the biggest destinations for Egyptian laborers. Many Egyptians, particularly from Upper Egypt, still make the trek to the unstable country to find work.
