Libya's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that 1,300 Egyptians detained in the eastern region of Bir al-Ashhab had been freed and deported to Cairo. Libyan media quoted Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, Faraj Al-Abdali, that these Egyptians were detained in a farm for 3 months in the area of Bir al-Ashhab, about 70 kilometers from the city of Tobruk in eastern Libya. Abdali added that the operation to liberate the Egyptians took place during an expanded security campaign, involving multiple forces, including the "human frogs" of the Libyan National Army, in addition to security forces. He pointed to the continuation of the campaign to impose the law and extend the prestige of the state from Tobruk to the Libyan-Egyptian border. He called on the elders of the region to lift the social cover for criminals and outlaws. Libyan authorities have in the past freed scores of Egyptians who had been detained in the chaotic country for nearly a decade. Egyptian workers have been kidnapped in Libya in recent years amid the country's chaotic security and proliferation of armed and extremist groups.
