The Minister of Labour, Ali al-Abed said that the Egyptians who were recently deported from the eastern region had entered Libya illegally.
He also rejected allegations of difficulty in obtaining a Libyan visa as a justification for entering the country illegally.
During an interview with the Libyan Al-Wasat TV, on Monday, the Minister said that the procedures for obtaining a Libyan visa are “easy and available to all workers, whether they are Egyptians or other nationals.”
He pointed out that the procedures include “medical examinations approved by the Ministry of Health, and the Libyan Embassy in the country of the worker.” He explained that some workers “resort to illegal methods to avoid paying medical examination fees.”
Earlier, eastern Libyan forces deported thousands of Egyptians who were in Libya illegally, sending them back to Egypt on foot across the land border, Egyptian and Libyan security sources told Reuters.
The Libyan security source told Reuters that 4,000 migrants had been found during raids on human traffickers, following a shootout between security forces and smugglers.
The Egyptian security source said only about 2,200 of the 4,000 migrants who were found by Libyan security forces were there illegally, and they were the only ones deported. Most of them were Egyptians, but some held other African nationalities.
“When they were deported, they were taken to a location close to the border, and then walked about 2 km into Egypt,” the Egyptian security source added.
Libya is home to about half a million migrants according to migration agencies, including many who hope to cross to Europe by boat. Others have settled in Libya finding work in the country’s oil-rich economy.
The number of migrants crossing to Europe from Libya has sharply increased this year according to Italy, the destination for most of the boats.
The Libyan source said security forces had destroyed a harbour used by smugglers.
Libya has had little peace or security since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 and many migrants have faced violence and abuse at the hands of people traffickers and other armed groups.
In western areas of Libya, territory is controlled by a host of rival armed factions. Eastern Libya is controlled by commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA).
A video posted online shows the Egyptian migrants running, being directed by forces that appear to be affiliated with the Libyan forces. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Rassd News Agency reported that the video dates back to 31 May 2023.
The Libyan authorities in the east of the country are waging an extensive security campaign to control migrants, as well as raiding crime dens.