By Libya Herald reporters.
Tunis and Benghazi, 11 July 2016:
There is some mystery about an announcement from the Egyptian armed forces that they had today rescued six of their nationals who had been abducted in Libya. The foreign ministry in Cairo had said on Saturday that the six had been seized in Bani Walid but freed by the local municipality who were caring for them.
However, the Egyptian military has contradicted this, saying that the group was taken by a militia as they were travelling toward the Egyptian border crossing at Salloum. Either way, for the military to have rescued them suggest that there was some form of incursion by the Egyptian armed forces which secured the release of the prisoners.
There has as yet been no report from Libya of any such action. The defence ministry in Cairo has given no further details of the operation. Whatever happened the six men arrived safely at Sollum this afternoon.
There continues to be a steady trickle of Egyptians who are heeding their government’s advice and quitting Libya. Since June more than 600 have passed through Salloum. Over the same period, a smaller number in the west of the country, cut off from Egypt by the fighting in Sirte, have made their way to Tunisia from where they have been repatriated.
