By Noora Ibrahim.
Benghazi, 24 February 2014:
The bodies of seven Egyptians, said to be Coptic Christians, have been found on a beach . . .[restrict]in Benghazi’s Jaroutha suburb today.
Benghazi Joint Security Spokesman Ibrahim Sharaa told the Libya Herald that several of the men had their hands bound and all had been killed by single shots to the head, execution-style. He added that the names of some of the men indicated that they were Coptic Christians and an Egyptian passport had been found on the body of one of them. An investigation into the murders, which have produced anger and revulsion in Benghazi, has begun.
There have been a number of attacks on the Egyptian Coptic community in Libya. In December 2012, an explosion near the Coptic Orthodox Church in Misrata killed two and left another three injured.
Benghazi’s main Coptic Church was set on fire by arsonists in March last year following an assault on the church’s priest and his assistant two weeks earlier. It is now closed. The incidents were seen as retribution for an attack on the Libyan Embassy in Cairo after between 50-100 Copts were arrested in Libya having been accused of proselytising.
No Egyptian diplomatic staff have been available to comment on the executions after the Egyptian mission was forced flee the country following the abductions of five of its staff last month.
The incident could trigger anti-Libyan protests in Egypt. In March last year, the Libyan embassy in Cairo was attacked by angry Copts following claims that an Egyptian Christian had been tortured and killed in a Libyan prison. [/restrict]
