Egypt received Thursday 27 Ethiopians who were kidnapped in Libya and freed by the state in coordination with its neighbouring country and Ethiopia.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt, Mohamed Dirir, were at the airport to greet the returning Ethiopians.
“Ethiopia may not have borders with Libya, but it has a sister which does,” said President Al-Sisi. This is only the first batch of returning Ethiopians, he added.
Egyptian security authorities negotiated with Libyan “parties in control of certain areas” successfully, said state media.
Al-Sisi stated that Egypt had been burdened after the “Islamic State” terrorist organisation killed 20 Christian Ethiopians in Libya.
Egypt’s ties with Ethiopia had been dry for more than 30 years, and were only recently restored after the signing of a “good-will agreement” with Sudan an Ethiopia in March in regards to the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
