Libya has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of backing Islamist militias that have kidnapped and killed several Coptic Egyptians on its soils over the past days.
Information Minister Omar al-Quairy told Egyptian satellite channel al-Hayat late Saturday that the Muslim Brotherhood “backs all terrorist groups in Libya, especially Ansar al-Sharia that commits bombings, targets members of the national army and kidnaps Egyptians.”
The Libyan city of Sirte, where 13 Egyptians were kidnapped, has been out of the government’s control for two years, the minister revealed.
“Egyptians in in Sirte have been paying the price for their country’s honorable stances in backing legitimacy in Libya,” Quairy added, noting, however, that Egyptians in the southern and eastern sections of his country were safe.
Magdy Malak, a Coptic activist, had said that Islamist militants stormed the house where the Egyptians lived in Sirte early Saturday, kidnapping 13, while ten others managed to flee before informing Malak of the assault via telephone. He noted that the incident raised the number of Egyptians abducted to 20, all from the Upper Egyptian province of Minya.
However, Mina Thabet, another Coptic activist, put the number of abducted Egyptians at 24, including four kidnapped on their way to Egypt in August whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
