An Egyptian TV director was reportedly found dead near the Libyan city of Bayda. His family is currently awaiting his body to be identified and sent back to Egypt via Tunisia.
Mohamed Galal, 31, worked for the Libyan TV station Barqa, and was kidnapped in August 2014 by Islamist militants, along with four other Libyans from the station crew, according to a Facebook post by his cousin Doaa Sultan.
Sultan said that officials from Bayda city contacted the Egyptian consulate in Tobruk to inform them that an Egyptian national’s body was found, but the consulate was unresponsive.
The officials contacted Galal’s family. Nevin Galal, Mohamed’s sister, told Daily News Egypt Tuesday that upon identifying her brother’s body, it will be returned home through Tunisia.
She added that the family has been trying to contact the Foreign Ministry since Monday, but they were not aware of the case.
“Islamic State” militants have killed five journalists working for Barqa. The reporters had been missing since August, when they left the eastern city Tobruk to travel to Benghazi after covering the inauguration of the country’s elected parliament, Reuters reported Monday.
Egypt has been evacuating Egyptians residing in Libya since the beheadings of 20 Coptic Egyptians in Sirte in February, which was claimed by “Islamic State” (IS) affiliates. In response to the attack, Egypt coordinated with Libya’s internationally-recognised interim government in Tobruk in attacks on the city of Derna, which is known to be an militant stronghold.
In March, the families of 46 Egyptians missing in Libya since September 2014 were in contact with Egypt’s Foreign Ministry for more information on their whereabouts.
Egypt has repeatedly issued travel warnings to its citizens in Libyan territories due to the ongoing violence Libya has been witnessing since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
