Relatives of kidnapped Copts to protest outside FM HQ
CAIRO: Relatives of abducted Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya will stage a demonstration outside the headquarters of Egyptian Foreign Ministry Monday, Youm7 reported.
Thirteen Egyptian Coptic Labors were kidnapped by Islamists in Libya’s Sirte a few days after the kidnapping of seven other Coptic civilians. Coptic activist Magdi Malak from Minya governorate said Saturday that the 13 workers are from Samalut city in Minya, and that 10 other Copts managed to escape and called their relatives about the kidnapping.
Some of the victims’ relatives told Youm7 the protest aims to urge the authorities to take “positive steps” for releasing them.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty said Sunday morning to “Sabah On” talk show that the ministry evacuated 40,000 citizens but they had returned to Libya.
Many Egyptian nationals were killed in Libya during the past few months; due to the security crisis, thousands of Egyptians have fled ongoing violence in Libya following warnings from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Algeria recently opened its borders with Libya in order for Egyptian nationals to flee the violence.
Abdel Atty added that there are Egyptians are waiting outside the Libyan embassy in Cairo to travel there; he noted that the Egyptian ambassador to Libya Mohamed Abu Bakr, who is in Cairo after the Egyptian embassy moved to Cairo following militants targeted in Tripoli, is in contact with the Libyan tribes to release the Copts.
Libyan Minister of Information Amr al-Qweiry told al-Hayah al-Youm talk show Saturday that sirte is out of control of the Libyan government since two years.
A few days ago, three Egyptian Copts were killed by unknown assailants in Sirte and their arrived Tuesday in Cairo. Seven Coptic Egyptians were shot dead on Feb. 24 in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city.
Source http://www.thecairopost.com/news/132197/news/relatives-of-kidnapped-copts-to-protest-outside-fm-hq
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