The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denies a statement issued by its Libyan counterpart about the “mistreatment” that Libyans were subjected to while transiting to and from Egypt.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry published a response to a statement by the Libyan Foreign Ministry accusing Egypt of the mistreatment of Libyans.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry quoted the Egyptian Chargé d’Affairs to Libya, Tamer Mustafa, where he expressed his “rejection of these heinous acts”, describing it as unacceptable and reprehensible.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry denied, through its spokesman, Ahmed Hafez, “the statements attributed to the head of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in the Libyan side’s statement,” and Hafez said that his country’s government “provides all means of care and good treatment for the Libyan brothers in their second country, Egypt.”
Commenting on the Libyan Foreign Ministry’s statement, issued by the Undersecretary of the Libyan Foreign Ministry in Tripoli regarding his meeting with the head of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Libya, Hafez said that the work of the Egyptian-Libyan Joint Consular Committee was scheduled to be held on May 24, 2022 in Cairo to discuss “all consular issues, which are related to the conditions of the two countries’ communities, and in a way that contributes to overcoming any obstacles in this regard.”
The Libyan side requested the postponement of the meeting, Hafez added.
Hafez called for the need to investigate the information transmitted on the situation of the two communities.
“It is not surprising that some parties are trying to circulate inaccurate data in an attempt to divert attention, especially that today, June 22, 2022, the road map for the Political Dialogue Forum and the mandate of the Libyan National Unity Government emanating from it will expire,” Hafez said.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that its Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs, Mohamed Khalil Issa, received the Chargé d’Affairs of the Egyptian Embassy in Libya, to inform him of the dissatisfaction of the Foreign Ministry about the mistreatment of Libyan citizens while entering and exiting from Egyptian territory through the Salloum land port.
Libyans were forced to wait inside the passports hall for long hours, up to 15 hours, without taking into account humanitarian cases, and without clear reasons or legal obstacles, the Libyan ministry said.
In the statement, the Libyan Foreign Ministry expressed its “deep disapproval” about the reports of mistreatment, and indicated that it “at the same time realizes that these heinous acts are individual”.
The Libyan statement quoted the Egyptian Chargé d’Affairs as expressing his “rejection of these shameful acts which are totally unacceptable and reprehensible”, and that he “will work seriously to present these problems to the competent Egyptian authorities.
