How will Egypt protect its expats in Libya from IS?

The killing and abduction of a number of Egyptian expats in Libya prompted the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to issue warnings not to travel there because of the inability of the Libyan state to provide protection for the Egyptians amid its prevailing state of insecurity and instability.
Coffins containing the remains of the bodies of Egyptian Copts killed by Islamic State militants in Sirte are carried by the plane to be transferred to Egypt, in Misrata, Libya May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny - RC1A03D61FF0
Coffins containing the remains of the bodies of Egyptian Copts killed by Islamic State militants in Sirte are carried by the plane to be transferred to Egypt, in Misrata, Libya, May 14, 2018. - REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
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Ahmed Youness
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CAIRO — Egyptian public prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered Aug. 5 the urgent referral of 11 defendants, including four Libyans, to the National Security Court (NSC). They were accused of spying for members of the Islamic State (IS) in Libya with the aim of committing terrorist crimes against Egyptians in Libya.

Sadek said in a statement on Aug. 5 that the investigations conducted by the public prosecutor's office confirmed the defendants abducted and tortured Egyptian expats to obtain a ransom from their relatives for their release. They also committed the crimes of spying and supplying IS with money and information, and human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

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