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By Maha Ellawati.
Benghazi, 28 July 2013:
The Libyan side of the Emsaad border crossing between Libya and Egypt has been closed following . . .[restrict]the escape of over 1,000 prisoners from Kauyfia Prison.
The closure is understood to be a precautionary measure, to prevent any of the 1,182 convicts who escaped in the early hours of yesterday morning from crossing the border.
The head of the Emsaad border crossing, Abd Assalam Al-Sakir, said the border had been closed at midnight, citing the prison break as the reason for the closure. The border would remain closed, he said, for 72 hours, or until orders had been received to reopen it.
However, according to a statement on the official website of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, the border could remain partly closed, with only goods allowed through the crossing, until the end of Ramadan. “No-one can leave the country through the Emsaad border crossing,” Zeidan said. He added that the Egyptian authorities would be given the names of the escaped convicts to aid their capture. [/restrict]
