Egypt's authorities are coordinating with Libya to create an emergency air lift with Tunisia to retrieve Egyptians stranded in the conflict-torn country, Egypt's ambassador to Tunisia Ayman Musharafa told Deutsche Press Agency Tuesday. Musharafa said the Egyptians in Libya will cross into Tunisia through Ras Jedir border crossing using buses, then they will return back home from Gabes airport, south of Tunisia.
He added that the Tunisian authorities seek to facilitate the evacuation of Egyptians in Libya, noting that they may consider an emergency sea lift if the numbers of Egyptians exceeded their expectations. Musharafa confirmed that Egypt has no official count of Egyptians residing in Libya because most of them entered the country through illegitimate means adding that the Libyan authorities do not count foreign workers on its lands. On Monday, Egypt has launched intensive airstrikes on IS training camps and ammunition storage sites in Derna, in retaliation to a video released Sunday titled "a message signed with blood to the nation of the cross", showing the execution of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya.