Thirty-five Egyptian migrant labourers and their family members were released Wednesday from immigration detention centres in Libya after they were detained by authorities of the Tobruk government.
Despite the current conflict in Libya, the flow of migrant labours between Egypt and Libya has continued unabated. The number of Egyptian nationals who have migrated to Libya for work ranges between 800,000 and 1 million, a figure inclusive of both formal and informal migration, according to a statement made by the Deputy Minister of Manpower and Immigration Ashraf Riyad in comments to Daily News Egypt in March 2015.
The Egyptians were detained in the cities of Misrata, Garabulli and Al-Khums and held on charges of illegal immigration. Others have additionally been charged with panhandling, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The 35 detainees, which include eight women and two children, departed from Garabulli Wednesday morning to be transported to Tunisia, from where they will be repatriated to Egypt on Thursday.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad Hisham Al-Naqib reiterated that the travel warning issued to Egyptian nationals travelling to Libya is still in effect, and that Egyptians in Libya should take maximum precautions and should stay away from regions of conflict.
