Foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdelatty said Monday that procedures are ongoing to ensure and facilitate the repatriation of Egyptians wishing to return home from Libya. The efforts come despite previous reports suggesting that Egyptians in Libya would prefer to stay. Abdelatty said there is coordination to repatriate Egyptians via Libya's eastern neighbouring countries to facilitate their return from Libya, according to MENA. Ministry of Civil Aviation spokesman Mohamed Abdel Rahman told Daily News Egypt that the ministry is ready to help transport Egyptians from Libya through flights from Tunisia. Abdel Rahman added: "There are four airports in Tunisia that we used during previous evacuations, and we are ready to do the same now if the foreign ministry's evaluation of the situation recommends it." The airstrikes launched by the Egyptian army on Libyan territories, in response to the beheading of kidnapped Egyptian workers by "Islamic State" militants, may lead to security tensions for the Egyptians who work and live in the neighbouring North African country. While there are no official numbers for Egyptians in Libya, estimations by Libyan officials state that approximately 1.3 million work and reside there. The killing of the Coptic workers last week was just the latest in a string of recent attacks on Egyptian community in Libya. However, escalation of violence may be a sign of further attacks, as some Islamist factions already hinted at such a possibility. Libya Dawn, a coalition of Islamist militias that control the capital city of Tripoli, issued a statement calling on Egyptian workers in Libya to leave the country within 48 hours. They said this was to avoid any criminal acts against them, MENA reported. Deteriorating security in Libya in July 2014 forced thousands of Egyptians to try to evacuate the country through Tunisia. However, Egyptians currently living in Libya themselves did not show desire to leave the turbulent North African country following the latest updates. The rates of Egyptians crossing the Salloum border from Libya to Egypt did not increase following the airstrikes, MENA reported. Matrouh's Security Directorate chief Al-Anany Hamouda asserted that there is no abnormal activity on the border crossing. "I know people who loaned money and risked their lives to travel to Libya and work here…they wouldn't go back to situations they ran from," says Walid Abu Shahin, an Egyptian who lives in Tripoli. Another Egyptian, Ahmed Kamal who lives in Benghazi, says Egyptian embassies and consulates do not help Egyptians in Libya. Kamal agreed with Abu Shahin on the reasons behind Egyptians stay in Libya. "Why would we leave, so long as were dead either way?" he said.
