On Tuesday, Egyptians returning from Libya revealed that they had been tortured by armed groups aligned with the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the city of Tarhuna.
In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, Hamada Maher Suleiman, one of the Egyptian returnees, said that they were accused of being mercenaries fighting alongside the Libyan National Army (LNA).
He added that “the GNA-affiliated militias tortured us for nearly 7 hours and insulted us”.
In the same context, Ayman Hamed Tantawi, another returnee, said they “were subjected to the worst forms of torture by some Syrian nationals, who stole our money and offended us”.
In videos circulated on social media platforms, dozens of Egyptian nationals appeared to have been tortured by GNA forces.
The Egyptian nationals have been repatriated at the request of Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi.
This is after being detained and subjected to torture for 72 hours in Tarhuna, 95 kilometers (59 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
The repatriated Egyptians thanked President El-Sisi for bringing them back home and saving their lives.
Since 2015, two ruling powers have been embroiled in conflict in Libya – the GNA based in Tripoli and a parallel government supported by the LNA in the east of the country.