Twenty-three workers were killed in Tripoli on Saturday after a rocket hit the Libyan capital, where militia violence has escalated for two weeks.
Over the last two weeks, the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has seen the worst violence since the downfall of the autocratic ruler Moammar Gaddafi, which resulted from a militia attack on Tripoli airport.
Since then at least 50 have been killed in the capital as violence escalated with brigades of former rebel fighters firing rockets and artilleries.
The 23 Egyptians were killed after a Grad rocket was fired at a farm home where they were staying in the western Karimiya region of Tripoli, Alaa Hadoura, Head of the Egyptian community in Libya, told MENA.
Libya is a common destination for Egyptians seeking job opportunities abroad due to its open boarded policies and geographical proximity. Until 2006, Egyptians could migrate to Libya with only a valid identification card.
After last week’s attack, which left four Egyptians dead in the city of Benghazi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned against traveling to the country as militia violence continues to flare up.
The International Organization for Migration estimated that until the current unrest that began after a NATO supported uprising toppled Gaddafi in 2011, there were 330,000 to 1.5 million Egyptians working in Libya. However, those numbers have declined severely with the increase of violence.
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