An Egyptian national was killed on Saturday in the western Libyan city of Zliten when he allegedly detonated a hand grenade, according to state-run MENA news agency. The Egyptian, who was unnamed in the report, was living and working in Egypt’s troubled neighbour.
Although a number of Egyptians have been detained, kidnapped or killed in Libya recently, MENA reported Saturday’s death as an accident.
Also Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy renewed his call for “all actors in Libya” to end the ongoing violence and “resort to dialogue to confront all attempts to destabilise Libya and threaten security of neighbouring countries in the region”.
Fahmy spoke to representatives from Algeria, Tunisia, Chad, Niger, Sudan as well as the Libyan foreign minister and heads of the Arab League and the African Union, made his call for help on the sidelines of the 17th Non-Aligned Movement conference in Algeria.
Fahmy then encouraged “all parties and actors Libyan to resort to dialogue and to respond to the legitimate demands of the Libyan people [in order to] achieve stability, security, peace and development,” while “preserving the civil peace to ensure the safety and security of Libyan citizens and confront all forms of attempts to destabilise Libya and threaten the security of neighbouring countries and the region”.
The Egyptian foreign minister also encouraged support for “endeavours and initiatives” of Libyan national dialogue to “achieve transitional justice” and “strengthen the pillars of state institutions”.
Last week, during the beginning of the NAM conference, Fahmy noted the “escalating increase in the pace of extremism and violence in Libya, and the proliferation of weapons in the hands of groups outside the framework of the Libyan government”.
Keeping in line with the Egyptian foreign ministry’s desire for political solutions to the region’s current crises, the foreign minister “stressed the importance of involving all of the Arab League and the African Union at the meeting” to ensure regional oversight over the situation which has already left scores dead and caused Egypt to close borders and issue security warnings for its citizens.
Officials at the foreign ministry have been in near-constant contact with regional counterparts since a rogue general lead an attack against Islamist militias loosely aligned with the floundering General National Congress. Government authorities claimed retired general Khalifa Haftar of staging a coup when he led a mid-May offensive in Benghazi that left at least 79 dead.
Egypt has issued and reiterated a travel warning for citizens travelling to Libya. Egyptians are advised not to travel to Libya unless it is absolutely necessary, and to travel by airplane not road only “after obtaining a valid visa issued by the Libyan embassy in Cairo”.
