CAIRO: The number of Egyptians who have returned home from war-torn Libya via the Sallum border crossing has reached 64,321 since Feb. 16, Marsa Matrouh security chief El-Anani Hamouda was quoted by Youm7 Saturday.
Officials at the Sallum border crossing have facilitated the arrival procedures for 151 Egyptians who have returned from Libya on Saturday only, Hamouda said, adding that “111 of the returnees had illegally traveled to Libya.”
Saturday’s figures brought the total number of Egyptian returnees from Libya via the Sallum crossing to 64,321since the release of a video that showed the execution of 21 Egyptians by the Islamic State (IS) militants in Libya in February.
Cairo has urged Egyptian nationals in the Libya to return; the Sallum border crossing and Cairo International Airport have received hundreds daily.
Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has stated it continues its talks with Tunisian and Algerian officials to coordinate the arrival of Egyptians through the two countries’ borders with Libya.
Egypt had earlier warned against traveling to Libya due to the violent and unstable situation in the country since the 2011 uprising.
The Ministry of Manpower announced that the number of Egyptians returned in 2011 reached 170,000 and in 2014 reached 72,745.