Egyptian shot dead on Libyan border with Tunisia

Ras Jedir/Cairo – An Egyptian national was shot dead on Friday while trying to cross the Libyan border with Tunisia, fleeing the violence in Libya.

Libyan security forces shot at Mohamed Youssef to prevent him from “breaking into” the Ras el-Jedir border crossing, alongside hundreds of other Egyptians, reported state-run news agency MENA.

The Egyptian nationals had been stranded on the border, unable to cross into Tunisia.

Egypt resumed an emergency airlift with Tunisia on Tuesday to transport Egyptians stranded on the Libyan borders with Tunisia back home. The airlift had transported around 12,241 Egyptians since it became active on July 31 and until the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced its conclusion last Sunday.

On Tuesday, the ministry announced the airlift would resume after being informed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that around 700 Egyptian nationals lined up at the Ras el-Jedir border crossing waiting to be flown back home.

On Friday, the number of Egyptian nationals flown back from the border was expected to rise to 14,200, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Deadly fighting between rival militants in Libya has been reigning over the capital and the eastern city of Bengazi for nearly a month, with over 200 killed. The fighting has paralysed Libyan airports, making it difficult to flee the country by air.

Source

South Africa Today Africa – North Africa Egypt News