24 illegal migrant corpses are confirmed to be Egyptians

CAIRO – 13 July 2017: Out of 48 dead bodies, 24 corpses have been identified to be Egyptians, mentioned the head of the Libyan Red Crescent Information Office, Fatima Obeidi.


Exclusive for Youm7, Obeidi asserted that the judicial and research in the city of Tobruk already took samples from two victims' families. The names of these family members are Mustafa Abdul Tawab, brother of Mohammed Abdul Tawab from Asyut province, and Hussein Juma. This has been done in the light of the procedures to hand over the bodies to their families when transferred to Cairo.


Obaidi pointed out that the Libyan Red Crescent has already found two bodies of the illegal Egyptian migrants on July 3, in the a road between Jaghbub and Tobruk.


She has then clarified that they found three other bodies, reaching 5 victims at this point.


On the other hand, it has been mentioned that they found another group of dead Egyptian citizens on Thursday, reaching by then the total number of the 24 victims from Egypt.


Obeidi then said the number of bodies that have been buried in the Islamic cemetery is 19 bodies, confirming that three bodies of Egyptian migrants were already handed over to their families, including an Egyptian citizen named Girgis Qadis Lamai Qadis, born in 1988 in Sohag governorate.


Earlier on July 10, the Libyan Red Crescent in Tobruk announced that 48 illegal immigrants were found dead in the Libyan Desert, in eastern Libya.


Not all of the 48 victims were confirmed to be from Egypt.

The death of these 48 people is believed to be due to thirst or the effect of the desert elements. The corpses were found in a rotten state indicating that their deaths took place only a few days before, according to the Libyan Red Crescent.


Egypt has long been battling illegal immigration; in October 2016, the Parliament has passed a legislation criminalizing illegal immigration and smuggling.