Ethiopians holding an Egyptian national flag walk down from a plane at the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, on May 7, 2015. (Photo: Xinhuanet)
Egypt’s Sisi Continues to Woo Addis Ababa, Says Ethiopians ‘rescued’ from Libya
Unlike his predecessors, the Egyptian leader has courted sub-Saharan Africa rather vigorously.
EGYPT’S president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said his country “rescued” 27 Ethiopians from war-torn Libya.
It was not immediately clear how the Ethiopians were rescued, but Sisi’s office said the group flown in on an Egyptian plane was “liberated by Egyptian and Libyan security services”.
“All efforts were made to bring the Ethiopians to Egypt safely… Egyptian services participated in this effort to protect, rescue and secure our Ethiopian brothers,” Sisi told reporters at Cairo airport.
Clearly, though, there was more to the rescue of the Ethiopians than a rescue.
Their release comes weeks after a purported video released by the Islamic State jihadist group showed the executions of some 30 Ethiopian Christians captured in Libya.
Sisi said Egypt was “pained by the gruesome beheading of innocent Ethiopians in Libya” and that the rescued Ethiopians were living in dire conditions in the war-strewn country.
“What is happening in Libya is a matter that concerns us and we tell the whole world that Libya should return to be a safe and stable country for its people and even to its visitors,” Sisi said.
Libya has plunged into chaos since the toppling of long-time autocrat Moamer Kadhafi, with rival militias fighting for the control of country’s oilfields and territories.
The killing of Ethiopians came weeks after the jihadists posted a similar video showing the beheadings of 21 Coptic Christians, all but one of them Egyptians, on a beach in Libya.
Read more mgafrica.com »
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Related:
Photos: New York Ethiopians Hold Vigil in Times Square for Victims of ISIL Violence (Tadias)
In Pictures: Washington, D.C Candlelight Vigil for Ethiopian ISIL Victims in Libya (Tadias)
Vigil Held in Nashville for Ethiopian Christians Killed by ISIS (WSMV-TV Nashville)
Denver’s Ethiopian Community Mourns Countrymen Killed by Islamic State (The Denver Post)
In Atlanta Suburb of Clarkston, Georgia Christians, Muslims Honor ISIS Victims (WABE Radio)
Addressing Ethiopia’s Migrant Crisis (Tadias)
Grief Mixes With Anger Over Christian Ethiopian Deaths (NY Times)
Anti-ISIL rally turns violent in Ethiopia (AlJazeera)
Ethiopian police tear-gas crowds protesting against Libya killings (Reuters)
Protest held in Ethiopia over killings by Islamic extremists (AP)
Ethiopians struggle to come to terms with beheadings of compatriots in Libya (Reuters)
Ethiopians Shocked by Islamic State Killings (AP)
Ethiopia in Mourning for Victims of Islamic State Violence (BBC)
Ethiopia Declares 3 Days of Mourning for Citizens Killed by Islamic State in Libya (VOA)
Ethiopia Condemns Purported Executions in Libya of Christians (AFP)
Video: Islamic State kills Ethiopian Christians in Libya (AP)
ISIS ‘executes’ Ethiopia Christians in Libya (Al-Arabiya)
ISIS Video Purports to Show Killing of Ethiopian Christians in Libya (NY Times)
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