Cairo frets over workers in Libya as Tripoli struggles to establish security
As Libya inches toward a political resolution of its long war, Egypt is focusing on protecting its workers in the country.
CAIRO — Egyptian officials discussed the challenge of protecting Egyptian workers in Libya with Fathi Bashagha, the Interior Minister of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), who visited Cairo for the first time on Nov. 4.
Under the auspices of the United Nations, Egypt, Morocco and Geneva are hosting Libya’s rival sides as they negotiate to settle the crisis in Tripoli. The warring parties must implement the cease-fire, draw up a constitution and choose a government that provides stability and security to the Libyan people.
Since the fall of the Moammar Gadhafi regime in 2011, Egyptian workers in Libya have been vulnerable to abuses including kidnapping, torture and killing. The most recent incident occurred in June, when a group of Egyptian workers were kidnapped by militants in the city of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli. In 2017, another group of workers was kidnapped and later released thanks to intervention by the Egyptian security services. In 2015, a number of Egyptian workers, mostly Copts, were killed by the Islamic State.
Gamal Bayoumi, former assistant minister for foreign affairs and the secretary-general of the Union of Arab Investors, told Al-Monitor, “There are nearly two million workers in Libya and their security is very important to the Egyptian authorities and the national economy.”
